From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC):

The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC), through the Directorate of Economic and Market Research, presented a study on debit and credit cards in which it was determined tha 72% of cards existing in the market have interest rates in colones, ranging from between 40% and 50%.

To illustrate the point the following example is used: a Costa Rican wants to buy a TV which costs $370 and an annual rate of 48% (the monthly rate is 4%) for a period of 60 months. In this case the consumer would pay a total of $990.

Therefore, consumers would be paying 2.6 times the price of the appliance.

More on this topic

Market for Credit and Debit Cards in Costa Rica

September 2014

Up to July 31st 2014 the number of cards in circulation amounted to 1,817,845, 5% more than at the end of April of the same year.

From a press release issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Costa Rica (MEIC):

San Jose 03 September 2014. The third quarterly survey of credit cards up to July 31 shows that there are 28 issuers, 394 types of cards, 1,817,845 cards (plastic) in circulation, representing an increase of 86,172 cards from the previous study (5 %) as well as a balance of effective debt of 836,118 million colones (up 3.1% over the balance of 30 April).

The Credit and Debit Cards Market in Costa Rica

April 2014

As of January 31st 2014 the number of cards in circulation amounted to 1,729,945.

From a press release issued by the Ministry of Economy and Trade:

In the past 18 months, Costa Ricans in total increased the debt balance of their credit cards by on average 1% per month, the equivalent of more than $7.2 million every 30 days, as confirmed by the latest survey by the Directorate of Economic and Market Research at the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC).

Plastic Money in Costa Rica: Report up to July 2013

October 2013

Credit card debt grew by 1.5% to a total of $1.482 billion, while the number of cards in circulation up to July 31, 2013 was 1,731,673.

A press release from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade of Costa Rica reads:

The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) through the Department of Economic and Market Research has conducted its latest study on debit and credit cards.

Study on Credit and Debit Cards

October 2011

The Costa Rican Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce has released a quarterly survey of credit and debit cards relating to data up to April 2011.

The quarterly survey conducted by the Ministry of Economy, containing data up to April, shows that there are 29 credit card issuers in the country, which together offer the market a total of 369 types of cards.