KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 -- Malaysians repaid over RM23 billion worth of credit card debt as of December 2025, a record rate underpinning the growing concern about the country's high level of household debt that has reached 85 per cent of GDP.

Data published on the Department of Statistics Malaysia's OpenDOSM website showed debt from credit card repayment reached RM23.67 billion by December 2025 before dropping to RM23.38 billion by the first month of 2026. 

Meanwhile, credit disbursed through credit cards reached a peak of RM24 billion at the end of 2025.

It's unclear how much of the debt repayment goes to Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) companies, which have exploded over the last five years. 

BNPL services often overlap with credi...