If you like to use credit cards when paying for your purchases, then you have to take note of this latest development in credit card interest rates – it’s now back to 3%. You would recall that credit card interest rates were lowered to 2% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the Monetary Board’s effort to help ease the burden of Filipinos at that time.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

CCAP backs MB’s decision to raise credit card interest rates to 3%

Now that prospects have become brighter, the hike in interest rates will be especially helpful for the local economy, which may lead to more employment and business opportunities for Filipinos.

Here is the full statement from the Credit Card Association of the Philippines:

The Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP) welcomes the decision of the Monetary Board (MB), the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), to raise the monthly interest rate ceiling on credit cards to 3% from the 2% imposed in November 2020.

The umbrella organization of 17 credit card issuers continues to support the BSP’s mandate of maintaining monetary stability and the overall soundness of the Philippine financial system. It believes the recent MB decision to ease the monthly interest rate cap on credit cards is part of the BSP's calibrated responses to the present economic situation.

CCAP backs the BSP in pursuing various options using monetary tools to help many Filipinos, particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises, cope with rising consumer prices; boost consumption and tourism; and ultimately aid in the country’s economic recovery.

With the pandemic spurring the rapid adoption of consumers of new virtual payment technologies, credit cards serve as an effective, safe and convenient payment tool that drives and contributes to the overall digitization goal of the country. Market-driven rates will help, not only in boosting competition in the industry but in accelerating financial inclusion and creating a cashless society — which are aligned with the BSP’s goals.