Consumer Credit

Consumer lending in Portugal maintains its positive growth trend in 2023. Demand for loans both for last-minute expenses and for current expenses is rising as consumers lose purchasing power and as savings stashed during the pandemic diminish. In…

Buy now pay later (BNPL) continues to grow in popularity, particularly among young adults, and there is a notable shift to BNPL loans. A significant number of financial services providers have launched their own BNPL programmes, including Banco…

Demand for consumer credit gross lending is set to continue to increase in 2023, despite the South African Reserve Bank’s consecutive rises in interest rates to stabilise inflationary pressures. This trend has been driven mainly by declining…

Loans taken out for education purposes, which include the HECS-HELP loan provided by the government, continues to grow at a moderate rate in 2023. This reflects the high engagement of Australians with tertiary education, both universities and TAFE…

In June 2023, the percentage of households carrying outstanding debts in Brazil rose by a 0.2 percentage point, reaching a total of 78.5%, the highest level since November 2022. Among these households, 18.5% considered themselves heavily burdened…

Consumer credit is set to see a moderate rebound in 2023, following subdued demand in 2022, affected by the pandemic. The pick-up in consumer credit growth has largely been due to rises in home and card lending, reflecting some improvement in…

Japan currently does not have any law restrictions surrounding Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and thus the benefits, such as convenience, flexibility, and especially no credit checks, are gradually being understood by a wider consumer base. These benefits…

While the Buy Now, Pay Later mechanism is still in its early stages in the country, new companies are emerging with innovative models, such as GOcuotas. Despite being relatively small, GOcuotas is experiencing remarkable growth, boasting an annual…

In 2023 the Bank of Canada has tweaked its prime interest rate several times. The impact on the housing market has been a rise in household mortgage debt. Consumers with variable rate mortgages or on the cusp of renewals have been struck especially…

Historically, when a consumer applied for a bank loan, the commitment was typically honoured until the debt was fully repaid because the process of making a change was costly and time-consuming. In 2020, Chile introduced the Financial Portability Law…

In the early months of 2023, a challenging macroeconomic climate, coupled with low consumer confidence, high interest rates to curb demand and soaring inflation, as well as political uncertainty, resulted in a marked deceleration in the issuance of…

Increasing interest rates are having an impact on consumer lending in 2023, with growth lower than the previous year. That being said, growth is still positive as the economy fares fairly well, in spite of inflation continuing to rise, though at a…

Forbes Middle East's recent list of the top 30 fintech companies for 2023 highlighted a strong presence from Egypt. Fawry secured the top spot, boasting an extensive network of 36 member banks, over 280,000 agents, and a user base exceeding 49…

Consumer credit is facing challenges in 2023, due to the uncertainty of the overall economic context. Negative influencing factors include high inflation, geopolitical unrest concerning the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and, in light of this situation,…

Since the reopening of borders in the fourth quarter of 2022, there has been a significant increase in the desire of Hong Kong residents to travel abroad, following three years of pandemic-induced restrictions. Throughout 2023, there has been a…

As inflation continues to rise, an increasing number of households find themselves in a financially precarious situation at the end of the month or salary payment periods. The impact of inflation bites into monthly budgets, leading to higher expenses…

Consumer credit gross lending has experienced further strong growth in 2023, along similar lines to the previous year. The main factor behind this growth has been the improvement in economic conditions as a result of increased community mobility…

In 2023, the growth of consumer lending in Israel experienced a notable slowdown, continuing a trend observed over recent years. The outstanding balance in card lending saw a decline, significantly influenced by rising inflation and the increasing…

Consumer credit registered positive, albeit modest growth in terms of gross lending and outstanding balance values in Italy in 2023, as ongoing economic uncertainty led many consumers to retain a conservative approach towards borrowing. While the…

In 2021 and 2022, many local consumers used personal loans when faced with unplanned expenses or a personal financial emergency. Malaysian banks were very active in offering personal loans to individuals, providing flexible repayments and offering…