S'pore's credit card debt hits high of S$9.07 billion, may be caused by rising costs & 'buy now, pay later' services

Singapore's credit card debt has exceeded S$9.07 billion in 2025's third quarter, a 10-year high that was last seen in 2014.

According to numbers from the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat), unpaid rollover balances which are carried over to the next month has steadily risen from S$5.14 billion in the second quarter of 2021.

Rollover balance refers to the amount not paid by the due date, rolling over to the next bill, typically on a monthly basis.

Trend may be caused by rising costs

Credit card rollover balance may be attributed to rising costs, materialist consumer culture and easier credit lines such as "buy now, pay later" services that allow consumers to spend beyond their means, reported CNA.

Overall, rollover balances rose steadily from 2014 to 2020, peaking slightly in the fourth quarter of 2019 before dipping to the decade's lowest point in the second quarter of 2021.

Rollover balances increased drastically from the second quarter of 2021 to the present high in 2025's third quarter, stated SingStat.

In an October press release by SingStat, Singapore's core inflation calculated through the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.2 per cent year-on-year for all items.

Record rollover balances despite drop in principal credit cardholders

These balances come despite a fall in principal credit card holders which could mean that the average credit card debt per cardholder is rising.

Based on figures from SingStat, there were nearly 6.1 million credit card holders in the third quarter of 2025, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2023.

The number of principal credit cardholders has been steadily climbing since 2014.

Inversely, supplementary cardholders have steadily decreased, dipping to 893,647, in the third quarter of 2025, the lowest number recorded in more than a decade.

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