Sri Lanka added 17,081 net new active credit cards in February 2026, lifting the total in circulation to 2,193,380, according to Central Bank payment system data published by EconomyNext.
The February figure represents a 0.8% monthly increase from 2,176,299 at end-January, and a 1.3% rise across the first two months of the year. February’s net addition outpaced January’s 10,113-card increase, suggesting a step-up in card sign-ups as the recovery extends into the new year.
Active credit cards rose 7.8% (157,730) across 2025, after a 4.8% (91,371) gain in 2024. The growth has been driven by the country’s economic recovery and aggressive credit card promotions amid declining interest rates. Analysts noted that most banks have tied up with supermarkets and other vendors to promote card usage in the falling-rate environment, while some users who cancelled their cards after the crisis have re-activated them as penalty rates have eased.
Active card numbers contracted 1.8% (39,991) in 2023 after Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in 2022, when the Central Bank sharply hiked policy rates to fight hyperinflation. The Central Bank has since cut its key policy rates eight times since June 2023, and inflation moved from deflation in September 2024 back to positive territory by August 2025.
EconomyNext flagged a near-term risk to the trend: some analysts expect the pace of card additions to gradually fall as the country has experienced an economic slowdown linked to fuel rationing and the broader Middle East war fallout the IMF has warned will outlast the fighting.
