Nelson Morales

Are Filipinos neck deep in credit card debt? An industry expert answers

Article (news)

David Dizon

ABS-CBN News

Are Filipinos drowning in credit card debt, as claimed by Singapore-based fintech firm Roshi Pte Ltd?The company claims a typical Filipino borrower allegedly owes more than four times their monthly income at S$2,092 or about P92,800 at current exchange rates, while the average monthly income of Filipinos is at $492.26 or about P21,900, according to a report on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.Atty. Ben Joshua Baltazar, president and CEO of the Credit Information Corporation, said Roshi could have used Bangko Sentral data on credit card debt “and then averaged it with the entire population of the Philippines.”However, he pointed out that credit card penetration remains <a href="https://newsroom.transunion.ph/philippines-robust-credit-card-market-poised-for-further-growth-driven-by-greater-financial-inclusion/">low among Filipinos</a> compared to Singapore where credit cards are used more frequently and monthly income is high. “Mahirap po sabihin na dapat i-contrast natin ‘yung average credit card debt sa average income ng buong Pilipinas. Kasi nung nakita rin namin yung data sa CIC, actually minorya lang ng mga Pilipino ang may credit card,” he said in a DZMM interview.CIC data also shows that average credit card debt of Filipinos is P54,000 as of July 2025, the official said.Baltazar said there are approximately 390 million loan contracts in the Philippines including car loans, housing loan and even installment loans such as online purchases for items such as appliances. These make up around 300 million loan contracts, which is the largest slice of the debt pie, the CIC official said.Salary loans make up 50 million loan contracts, described as “non-installment and paid out just once.”Credit card loans, he said, take up the smallest slice of the pie with only 20 million contracts.“Twenty million lang ang active credit card loans sa Pilipinas. So kung kumpara natin sa population ng Pilipinas ay napakaliit kumpara sa mga iba nating loan products na ginagamit ng mga Pilipino,” he said.Baltazar said CIC data has not detected any alarming rise in credit card loan defaults or past due among Filipinos, adding that not even the primary regulator - the Bangko Sentral - has not issued any warning or advisory.“Wala naman mga increases or any significant trends na hindi nakakabayad ang mga Pilipino. In fact, baliktad ang nakikita naming trend na mas marami pa ang gumagamit ng mga tinatawag nating buy now pay later schemes. Marahil ang dahilan dito, mas magaan ito sa bulsa,” he said.He added: “Kaya siguro ginagamit ito kaysa sa credit card kasi yung application ito mas madaling i-process online. Pinoprocess lang ito sa transaction ninyo, hindi sa projected paggamit ng credit card na pwede nyo gamitin sa araw-araw na gastusin.”

Are Filipinos really drowning in credit card debt as claimed by Singapore-based fintech Roshi Pte Ltd? The Credit Information Corporation sets the record straight.

Are Filipinos really drowning in credit card debt as claimed by Singapore-based fintech Roshi Pte Ltd? The Credit Information Corporation sets the record straight.