Foreign credit card spending reaches US$31.8mn

The Venezuelan public's combined credit card spending abroad reached US$31.8mn on May 26, Venezuela's government news service reported. The figure is the amount accumulated since the Venezuelan authorities green-lighted overseas credit card use once again on March 1st this year. President Hugo Chavez ordered a ban on foreign exchange transactions in February 2003 after a two-month nationwide strike fell apart. The strike aimed at deposing him had seriously damaged the economy, especially the state-run oil industry, a key source of government revenues and foreign exchange. A total of 27 banks had their clients using credit cards abroad, of which local banks Mercantil, Banesco and Provincial were the top three in terms of amounts spent. Average credit card spending was US$1,097 per user during the period.