Turkey's banking watchdog has eased payment regulations for credit cards, raising the maximum number of instalments and cutting repayment levels as it looks to support domestic consumption in a struggling economy. The BDDK watchdog cut the minimum of an outstanding card balance payable each month to avoid late payments fees to 30% on all cards, from up to 40%, according to statement in Thursday's Official Gazette.
The BDDK said late on Wednesday it was increasing maximum instalment to 18 months from 12 for some purchases, including white goods and furniture.
"It seems that the government wants to speed up efforts to recover economic activity (so as) not to extend contraction in GDP to the second half of the year," Oyak Yatirim said in a note to clients after the changes.
The value of domestic credit card transactions rose 19% year-on-year to 189.5 billion lira ($32.6 billion) in the first quarter, according to Interbank Card Centre (BKM) data.
Over the same period the economy shrank 2.6% year-on-year, after the lira last year shed some 30 percent of its value against the dollar, crimping consumners' purchasing power.