Credit card use in China's Taiwanamounted to 1.42 trillion new Taiwan dollars (US$43 billion) in 2005, up 13.3 percent over the previous year, according to a report reaching from Taipei Wednesday.

According to a report released by the local statistics department, cardholders in Taiwan used their credit cards to obtain a total of 215.7 billion new Taiwan dollars (US$6.54 billion) in cash advances during 2005, up 4.5 percent over the year-earlier figure.

The amount charged to credit cards in 2005 represented 20 percent of the total consumer spending for the year, the report said.

The report also indicated that the credit card use has increased in Taiwan as more and more Taiwan people adopt a "buy now, pay later" attitude.

The total number of credit cards in circulation dropped from 45.79 million at the end of the third quarter last year to 45.49 million at the end of the year, according to the report.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2006)