Dominican Republic credit card growth slows significantly

The growth rate of the personal credit card portfolio in the Dominican Republic slowed significantly between July 2025 and July 2026. According to a report by the Superintendencia de Bancos (SB), year-on-year expansion dropped from 17.2% to 2.1%, a decrease of 15.1 percentage points. The total portfolio reached RD$125,429 million as of July 2026.

The report indicates a contraction in the number of credit cards, which fell by 1.3% year-on-year to 3.57 million. New credit card issuances also declined by 20.2%, dropping from 871,364 to 695,168 cards over the last 12 months, with the most pronounced decrease seen in lower-income segments.

Despite the slowdown in portfolio dynamism, the financial system recorded 2.05 million cardholders, a slight year-on-year increase of 0.2%. On average, each user holds 1.74 credit cards. The SB noted that while the segment is experiencing a contraction following the expansion seen in 2024, credit cards remain the primary entry point into the financial system, accounting for 55.8% of new debtors.