China's credit card numbers decline by 10 million in Q2 2026

Huo Xing Finance reports that the People’s Bank of China has released the overall operating conditions of the payment system for the second quarter of 2026. As of the end of the second quarter, a total of 10.267 billion bank cards had been issued nationwide. Among these, credit cards and combined credit-debit cards numbered 677 million, a decrease of approximately 10 million from the end of the first quarter and nearly 20 million from the beginning of the year—equating to an average of more than 100,000 credit cards exiting the market daily. Compared to the historical peak of 807 million credit cards in the second quarter of 2022, cumulative reductions in credit card issuance have now reached approximately 130 million. The mid-year reports of listed banks show that the outstanding balances on credit cards at the six state-owned major banks all declined compared to year-end levels. ICBC’s credit card loan balance stood at RMB 597.157 billion, a 14.39% decline from year-end. Bank of China’s cumulative credit card issuance reached approximately 152 million as of end-June, an increase of 1.76 million from year-end; China Merchants Bank’s outstanding card volume increased net by 256,300 to 977.073 million. In terms of asset quality, the non-performing rates for Agricultural Bank and Postal Savings Bank remained at 2.05% and 1.45%, respectively; ICBC’s non-performing rate rose to 5.37%; Bank of Communications’ non-performing rate increased from 2.68% to 3.8%. Minsheng Bank’s credit card non-performing rate rose to 4.22%, while Industrial Bank’s increased to 3.79%. China Merchants Bank recorded RMB 23.698 billion in newly generated non-performing credit card loans in the first half of 2026, with a non-performing rate of 1.90%. In August 2026, RMB 12.2 billion in principal and interest of credit card non-performing loans were transferred.