Online card payments in Turkey in November increased by 90% compared to the same period of the previous year, exceeding TL 55 billion ($4.98 billion), according to data released by the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

The BKM announced that as of the end of November, 83.4 million credit cards, 148.6 million debit cards and 55.7 million prepaid cards are being used in Turkey.

Compared to the month of November last year, the number of credit cards increased by 11%, the number of debit cards by 4%, and the number of prepaid cards increased by 33%. The total number of cards, on the other hand, increased by 11% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 287.7 million.

Last month, the total amount of payments made with credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards increased by 66% compared to the same period of the previous year and became TL 181.3 billion.

While TL 148.9 billion of the card payments in November were made with credit cards, TL 29 billion were conducted with bank cards and TL 3.4 billion with prepaid cards.

Compared to the same period of the previous year, the rate of growth was 64% in credit card payments, 69% in debit card payments and 208% in payments made with prepaid cards.

Online card payments continue to be one of the most important payment tools preferred in all areas of life. Especially in November, with the discounts applied by stores and e-commerce sites on different days, the number of online card payments exceeded TL 55 billion, an increase of 90% compared to the same month last year.

While the share of online card payments in total card payments was 26% in November in the previous year, it reached 29% this year. In other words, 1 TL of every 3 TL card payment was made online in November this year.

When the highest increase was seen in the tourism sector with early reservations, the number of online card payments in the accommodation sector reached TL 196 million, an increase of 355% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Other sectors with the highest increase in online card payments were travel agencies with a volume of TL 1.75 billion and an increase of 229%, and airlines with a volume of TL 3.54 billion and an increase of 211%. They were followed by the building materials sector with a volume of TL 3.26 billion and an increase of 106% and the market-food sectors with a volume of TL 6.58 billion and an increase of 98%.

On the popular shopping day in November known as "Super Friday," stores and e-commerce sites also offered many discount campaigns this year.

With the discount on Nov. 11, there was an increase in card payments, especially on the internet, throughout the month. The discounts made by the retailers are spread over the week, instead of a single day. Nevertheless, the days with the most online card payments were Nov. 26 and Nov. 11 in both November and 2021.

The number of card payments made on Nov. 26 increased by 60% and reached TL 3.1 billion compared to Nov. 27, the day of Legendary Friday in 2020. The number of card payments made on Nov. 11 increased by 39% compared to the previous year and reached TL 2.5 billion.