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omestic credit card issuers are putting their hopes in a seasonal rise in transactions during the Islamic festivity month of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri to beat back a sluggish economy and stringent regulations.

For many years, just like in many other industries, credit card issuers have seen a burst of growth during the festive season, when people tend to consume more compared with regular months throughout the year.

Major players in the credit card industry, such as Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Central Asia (BCA), hope to seize on the momentum by offering various promos such as discounts, cash backs and the easier redemption of reward points.

In addition to offering discounts in e-commerce, BNI focuses its credit card promos in transportation and accommodation, namely for airplane tickets and hotel rooms, as people seek the best offers for their vacations during the long holidays.

“We expect our credit card transactions to grow 20 percent during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri,” BNI consumer banking director Anggoro Eko Cahyo said.

BNI had 1.68 million credit card accounts with Rp 8.07 trillion (US$607.25 million) in transactions within the first three months of this year.

Meanwhile, for BCA, which is the largest private lender by assets, transactions in restaurants, hypermarkets, fashion, travel and hotels are major contributors to its credit card business segment.

The segment has been rising for two months, though at a slower pace because of the economic slowdown, said Santoso, BCA’s head of consumer cards. BCA had 2.79 million credit card accounts between January and April with total transactions exceeding Rp 9.5 trillion.

Private lender Bank Mega has also voiced its optimism and hopes to see an average increase of 10 to 15 percent in transactions during the period, compared to regular days.

Mega credit card and personal loan director Dodit Wiweko Probojakti said the months of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri were often the periods when it recorded an uptick in transactions, especially in groceries and travel.

Mega benefits from transactions made in the subsidiaries of parent company CT Corp., such as Transmart Carrefour hypermarket, Metro department store and Vayatour travel agency.

“As many as 30 percent of our transactions are group related. Groceries at the Transmart Carrefour hypermarket make up to 87 percent of that figure,” Dodit said, adding that the lender had 1.6 million credit cards as of May, with Rp 2.25 trillion in transactions.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Credit Card Association (AKKI), whose membership comprises 22 banks and one financial services firm, acknowledges that Ramadhan and Idul Fitri always trigger higher consumer spending, but argues that the increase will not be as high as before.

“We predict transaction growth will not be as high as in previous years when average growth reached 15 to 20 percent. This year, a maximum of 15 percent growth is already fine,” AKKI general manager Steve Marta said recently.

It attributes the slowdown to Bank Indonesia (BI) and Finance Ministry regulations. A BI rule limits the amount of credit a customer can get on their salary.

A Finance Ministry regulation enables the Taxation Directorate General to access transaction records to provide data for tax collection. This power became official on May 31.

The AKKI said this regulation had caused people to close their accounts because they were worried about the disclosure of their data.