At the end of October 2013 the number of cards in circulation amounted to 1,723,306.
A press release from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade of Costa Rica reads:
Costa Ricans owe in total $1,496 million in balances on credit cards, which is an increase of $21.5 million (1.46%) compared to the latest study by the Directorate of Economic and Market Research, according to the cut made up to October 31, 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.
The Panamanian Electronic Payments Network has invested $7 million in a new technology platform that will incorporate debit cards which use chips, and is expected to be operational from January 2014.
This was announced by the CEO of Security and Fraud Prevention, Abdy Sanjur. "The change reflects the wider acceptance of smart cards around the world, as well as the rules on transfer of responsibility and governmental administration" reported Capital.com.pa.
At the end of 2012 a total of 7.1 million credit and debit cards were circulating in the country.
The growth compared to 2011 in the amount of "plastic" held by Costa Ricans was 21%.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that "more than 1.6 million credit cards were used to make purchases (95% of operations). Meanwhile, debit cards were used more to withdraw cash than for shopping (51% and 49% respectively of operations). "
From May 30, the technical rules on credit cards issued by the non-banking commercial sector will be in effect in El Salvador.
A statement from the Ministry of Economy reads:
The Minister of Economy, Armando Flores signed for publication in the Official Journal, this May 29, standards for credit cards, which allow development of the application of the provisions of the Law on Credit Cards, in a more effective and efficient form, favoring cardholders from the nonbank trade sector.