Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Credit card spending in Taiwan for July hit the highest level for the month due to the growing prevalence of mobile payment and digital wallet services, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

The FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan, cited data which showed spending on credit in Taiwan stood at NT$201.9 billion (US$6.69 billion) in July, up NT$18.5 billion from the same month a year earlier.

The figure, however, was down NT$93.2 billion from June.

But it was the highest for the month of July.

Wang Li-chun, deputy director of the FSC's Banking Bureau, said the strong spending came after several mobile payment systems were inaugurated in Taiwan. The systems allow consumers a more convenient way to pay for their purchases.

Apply Pay began providing payment services for credit card holders here on March 29, making it the first major foreign mobile payment platform to be available in Taiwan.

Samsung Pay and Android Pay followed suit, tapping into what they believe is a booming market for mobile payments by launching their services here in early May and June, respectively.

Wang said that so far this year, there were five months in Taiwan in which credit card spending topped NT$200 billion. The strong consumption could very well be due to the implementation of mobile payment services, he said.

Besides July, local credit card spending surpassed NT$200 billion in January (NT$201 billion), March (NT$220.3 billion), May (NT$216 billion) and June (US$295.1 billion), the FSC data showed.

But Wang said that it remains to be seen whether monthly credit card spending of more than NT$200 billion will become a norm in Taiwan.

In terms of spending through credit cards issued by individual banks, the FSC said, Cathay United Bank ranked first as spending on the credit card it issued hit NT$30.92 billion in July, ahead of CTBC Bank's NT$28.61 billion, and E.SUN Commercial Bank's NT$25.74 billion, according to the FSC.

As of the end of July, Taiwan had a total of 27.42 million valid credit cards circulating in the market, up from 27.30 million a month earlier.

The cards were issued by 36 financial institutions, the FSC said.

Of the total credit card spending this year as of the end of July, 0.24 percent was not paid off by the customers, up from 0.23 percent seen at the end of June, the FSC added.