Taiwan credit card spending drops $1b as holiday boom ends

January 2026 retail sales reached $13.44b, down from December’s $14.3b peak, FSC data shows.

The balance of revolving credit on credit cards in Taiwan increased to $3.74b (NT$119.3b) in January 2026, up from $3.72b (NT$118.6b) in December 2025, according to a press release from the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

During the same period, the total number of effective credit cards stood at 59.5 million, down from 60.49 million, whilst active cards totalled 40.11 million, slightly lower than the previous month.

Installment loan balances were approximately $5.69b (NT$181.3b), down from $5.88b (NT$187.2b), meaning structured installment loans now exceed traditional revolving credit by more than 50%.

Monthly retail sales via credit cards reached $13.44b (NT$428.1b), compared with $14.3b (NT$453.7b) in December 2025 whilst monthly write-offs were around $18.20m (NT$580m), slightly lower than $20.4m (NT$650m) in the previous month.

The average ratio of delinquent credit, which are accounts past due for more than three months, remained at 0.24%, unchanged from December 2025.

The FSC publishes these statistics to monitor credit card balances, usage, and repayment trends amongst Taiwan’s financial institutions.

$1 = NT$31.84