Credit card spending hits US$356M so far in 2026 – President Ali

…59,951 new bank accounts opened between April to August

As the economy continues to expand, President Dr Irfaan Ali has highlighted changing spending patterns among citizens, revealing that credit card transactions have amounted to approximately US$356 million so far this year. He made the disclosure during a press conference on Monday as he pointed to the increased in spending power among Guyanese. “Just on foreign currency, I will give you an example. In 2024, US$140 million in credit card settlement in Guyana…in 2025, to settle credit card alone, guess what it went to, US$430 million, an increase of 207 per cent. Isn’t that sign of a changing pattern? Isn’t that a sign of a more complex financial system of Guyanese buying more, using credit card more?” the President expressed. “And so far in 2026, already, US$356 million,” he added, indicating that this will increase tremendously when persons returning from vacation settle their debts as well as when online shopping for Christmas is processed.

“That is a type of growth and difference we’re talking about. That’s just one indicator of changing patterns,” he expressed. Looking at spending pattern projections for the remainder of the year, the Head of State disclosed that “September 10th to the 30th, we have about a projected demand of US$354 million. October US$385 million. November US$400 million. December US$436 million. That’s US$1.575 of projected demand to the end of the year,” the President highlighted. Meanwhile, he noted that 59,951 new bank accounts were opened between the period April to August 2026. He added that from October 2024 to August 2026, there are now 179,758 accounts opened. Ali’s disclosures on spending patterns among citizens come on the heels of comments he made at his last press conference in August about other indicators of Guyanese changing behaviour. At the time, the Head of State was addressing concerns on the rising cost of living in Guyana, pointing to several converging factors, ranging from global imported inflation to shifting consumer habits. President Ali had pointed to more families eating out and cooking less at home as part of the shift.