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  • Credit Cards, the Biggest Payment Method: Balances, Burden, Delinquencies, Available Credit: How Are Our Drunken Sailors Holding Up?

Credit Cards, the Biggest Payment Method: Balances, Burden, Delinquencies, Available Credit: How Are Our Drunken Sailors Holding Up?

November 09, 2023

by Wolf Richter Wolf Street

Only 2% of credit card users are delinquent, according to new data from the New York Fed; 98% are current.

Credit card balances are among the most misreported data points out there. They’re largely a measure of spending rather than borrowing. Credit cards are the dominant consumer payments method in the US. Credit cards were used for $5.8 trillion in consumer transactions in 2022, up 18% year-over-year due to a surge in spending on travels and other services, and due to the surge in inflation at the time.

Banks charged merchants $126 billion in credit card processing fees in 2022.