The Hong Kong (China SAR) credit and charge card payments market is projected to reach HKD1.0 trillion ($132.4 billion) in 2025e, reflecting a robust growth of 6.0% compared to the previous year. This growth is mainly driven by the rising acceptance of digital payment solutions and a shift in consumer behavior towards cashless transactions, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Payment Card Analytics reveals that credit and charge card payment value in Hong Kong registered a a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.3% between 2020 and 2024 to reach HKD975.6 billion ($124.9 billion) in 2024, driven by the rise in consumer spending.

Shivani Gupta, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Credit and charge cards accounted for over 77% of total card payments by value in 2024. Hong Kong consumers are increasingly using credit and charge cards for payments, with the frequency of payments per card standing at 61.3 times in 2024, compared to 30.4 times for debit cards. The country’s developing payment infrastructure, rising consumer awareness, growing merchant acceptance, and value-added benefits associated with credit and charge cards are supporting this growth.”

A well-developed POS infrastructure is also supporting the rise of credit and charge cards. The number of POS terminals per million inhabitants in Hong Kong stood at 27,252 in 2024, which is higher compared to some of its peers such as Japan (21,400), Thailand (13,507), and Indonesia (7,793), though there is significant room for further expansion.

To further encourage credit and charge card payments, banks are introducing dual-currency credit cards. In June 2025, BOC Hong Kong partnered with UnionPay International to launch the dual-currency BOC Go credit card, which enables card holders to make purchases in Chinese yuan and Hong Kong Dollar. It offers cardholders discount up to 5% on purchases at partnered merchants, and reward points on both domestic and international transactions across travel, leisure and entertainment.

The rise in e-commerce payments also contributed to this growth as credit and charge cards are the most preferred payment tools for e-commerce purchase. Credit and charge cards accounted for over 31.1% of the total e-commerce transaction value in 2024, according to GlobalData’s 2024 Financial Services Consumer Survey*.

To manage the risk of over-indebtedness, banks are providing flexible repayment periods for credit card users. For instance, Citibank offers the Merchant Instalment Plan, which allows credit card holders to convert purchases of HKD2,000 ($256.0) or above at over 600 participating merchants into monthly installments. Similarly, Standard Chartered customers can covert purchases of HKD500 ($64.0) and above into three- to 60 monthly installments.

Gupta concludes: “The Hong Kong credit and charge card payment sector is projected to sustain its upward trajectory over the next five years. However, the Hong Kong economy may encounter challenges due to the potential repercussions of recent global trade disputes arising from US import tariffs. Consequently, the credit and card payments market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% between 2025 and 2029 to reach HKD1.3 trillion ($168.6 billion) in 2029.”

*GlobalData’s 2024 Financial Services Consumer Survey was carried out in Q2 2024. Approximately 67,292 respondents aged 18+ were surveyed across 41 countries.