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Credit card statistics, industry facts, debt statistics
By Ben Woolsey and Matt Schulz
This page contains credit card statistics -- including statistics on credit card debt, credit card delinquencies, credit scores, credit card interest rates, bankruptcies, average credit card debt and more -- compiled by the CreditCards.com staff. Statistics on this page will be updated regularly as we receive new or updated credit card data. Some data may appear multiple times on the page because the information is applicable in multiple categories.

If you have credit card statistics that you'd like to share, or if you have a question, comment or concern about what has or hasn't been included on the page, please e-mail us at Editors@CreditCards.com.

Credit card statistics roadmap
Below is a list of the various categories of statistics on this page. Click the link for more information.

Card issuer statistics

Market share
Customer satisfaction
Reputation
Miscellaneous
Consumer statistics

Bankruptcy
Business credit cards
Card ownership
Causes of debt
Credit limits, usage
Credit scores
Debit cards
Debt totals
Delinquencies, late payments
Demographics
-- African-Americans
-- Elderly
-- Hispanics
-- Young adults
-- Other
Fees
Identity theft
Interest rates, APRs
Online use
Payment trends
Perceptions, tendencies
Rewards
Total charges
Types of cards
History

Industry history
CREDIT CARD ISSUER STATISTICS

Market share
Top 10 issuers of general purpose credit cards for 2008 based on outstandings
1. Chase - $183.32 billion
2. Bank of America - $166.32 billion
3. Citi - $106.74 billion
4. American Express - $88.02 billion
5. Capital One - $60.08 billion
6. Discover - $49.69 billion
7. Wells Fargo - $36.36 billion
8. HSBC - $29.36 billion*
9. US Bank - $18.53 billion
10. USAA - $16.61 billion*
(Original source: Nilson Report, February 2009)
NOTE: The outstanding dollar values listed for HSBC and USAA are slightly lower than the actual outstandings for that bank because they do not include their American Express business. However, the discrepancy does not have an impact on the overall rankings as listed above.

Most general purpose credit cards in circulation in 2008
1. Chase - 119.4 million
2. Citi - 92 million
3. Bank of America - 80.2 million
4. Discover - 48 million
5. American Express - 46.5 million
6. Capital One - 46.3 million
7. HSBC - 38.8 million
8. GE Money - 27.2 million
9. Target - 23.4 million
10. Wells Fargo - 17.3 million
(Original source: Nilson Report, February 2009)

U.S. market share ranked by transaction processor, based on credit card receivables outstanding:
1. Visa -- 46 percent
2. MasterCard -- 36 percent
3. American Express -- 12 percent
4. Discover Card -- 6 percent
(Source: Nilson Report, May 2008)

Largest debit card volume in the U.S., 2007
1. Bank of America -- $106.03 billion
2. Wells Fargo -- $54.67 billion
3. Chase -- $37.26 billion
4. Wachovia -- $37.16 billion
5. Washington Mutual -- $35.03 billion
6. US Bank -- $23.03 billion
7. Regions Bank -- $15.29 billion
8. Fifth Third Bank -- $12.19 billion
9. USAA Federal -- $12.03 billion
10. RBS Citizens -- $11.51 billion
Note: Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia and Chase acquired Washington Mutual in October of 2008. These rankings do not reflect those moves.
(Source: Nilson Report, April 2008)

2007 global market share of general-purpose cards (purchase volume)
1. Visa -- 60 percent
2. MasterCard -- 28 percent
3. American Express -- 10.5 percent
4. JCB -- 0.9 percent
5. Diners Club -- 0.5 percent
(Source: Nilson Report, May 2008)

2007 global market share of general-purpose cards (cards in distribution)
Total among these five brands: 3.03 billion, up 13.6 percent in one year
1. Visa -- 65 percent
2. MasterCard -- 30 percent
3. American Express -- unknown
4. JCB -- unknown
5. Diners Club -- unknown
(Source: Nilson Report, May 2008)

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Customer satisfaction

J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Study Rankings
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)
1. American Express -- 783
2. Discover Card -- 751
3. National City -- 721
4. Chase -- 719
5. U.S. Bank -- 716
6. Washington Mutual -- 712
7. Citi -- 710
8. Wells Fargo -- 709
9. Bank of America -- 692
10. GE Money -- 683
(Source: J.D. Power and Associates, September 2008)

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Ranking of U.S. banks' reputations

1. Washington Mutual -- 64.04
2. SunTrust Banks -- 63.56
3. Wachovia -- 61.22
4. National City -- 58.83
5. Wells Fargo -- 57.38
6. US Bancorp -- 54.18
7. Bank of America -- 50.94
NOTE: Rankings were part of a survey of 600 of the world's largest companies.
(Source: Reputation Institute Global Pulse survey, June 2008)

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Miscellaneous

There were 984 million bank-issued Visa and MasterCard credit card and debit card accounts in the U.S in 2006. (Sources: Visa USA, MasterCard International)
The top 10 credit card issuers controlled approximately 88 percent of the credit card market at the end of 2006, based on credit card receivables outstanding. (Source: FDIC)
U.S. Visa cardholders alone conduct more than $1 trillion in annual volume. (Source: Visa USA internal statistics, 4th quarter 2006)
Consumers carry more than 1 billion Visa cards worldwide. More than 450 million of those cards are in the United States. (Source: Visa USA internal statistics, 4th quarter 2006)
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Industry history

The first widely accepted plastic charge card was issued in 1958 by American Express.
The first general-use credit card that allowed balances to be paid over time was the BankAmericard (which in 1977 changed its name to Visa), issued in 1959. (Sources: PBS Frontline; American Express, Visa USA)
How did MasterCard begin? In 1966, a number of banks formed the Interbank Card Association. In 1969, the Interbank Card Association bought the rights to use "Master Charge" from the California Bank Association. It was renamed MasterCard in 1979. (Source: MasterCard.com)
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CONSUMER STATISTICS

Card ownership

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 159 million credit cardholders in the United States in 2000, 173 million in 2006, and that number is projected to grow to 181 million Americans by 2010. (Source: Census Bureau)
In 2006, the United States Census Bureau determined that there were nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the U.S. A stack of all those credit cards would reach more than 70 miles into space -- and be almost as tall as 13 Mount Everests. (Source: NY Times, Feb. 23, 2009)
In 2007, 73.0 percent of U.S. families had credit cards in 2007. That's a slight drop from 74.9 percent with cards in 2004. (Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, February 2009)
As of Septembr 30, 2008, there were 339 million Visa credit cards and 314 million Visa debit cards in circulation in the United States. (Source: Visa.com)
As of December 31, 2008, there were 263 million MasterCard credit cards and 126 million MasterCard debit cards in circulation in the United States. (Source: MasterCard.com)
As of December 31, 2008, there were 54 million American Express credit cards in circulation in the United States. (Source: Nilson Report, February 2009)
As of December 31, 2008, there were 57.1 million Discover credit cards in circulation in the United States. (Source: Nilson Report, February 2009)
Two-thirds of survey respondents said they would consider switching their primary credit card if a better feature were offered. (Source: ComScore, September 2008)
76 percent of undergraduates have credit cards, and the average undergrad has $2,200 in credit card. Additionally, they will amass almost $20,000 in student debt. (Source: Nellie Mae, "Undergraduate Students and Credit Cards in 2004: An Analysis of Usage Rates and Trends")
41 percent of college students have a credit card. Of the students with cards, about 65 percent pay their bills in full every month, which is higher than the general adult population. (Source: Student Monitor annual financial services study, 2008)
Approximately 74.9 percent of the U.S. families surveyed in 2004 had credit cards, and 58 percent of those families carried a balance. In 2001, 76.2 percent of families had credit cards, and 55 percent of those families carried a balance. (Source: Federal Reserve Bulletin, February 2006)
About a quarter have no credit cards, and an additional 30 percent or so pay off their balances every month. (Source: Federal Reserve Board survey of consumer finances, 2004)
On average, today's consumer has a total of 13 credit obligations on record at a credit bureau. These include credit cards (such as department store charge cards, gas cards, and bank cards) and installment loans (auto loans, mortgage loans, student loans, etc.). Not included are savings and checking accounts (typically not reported to a credit bureau). Of these 13 credit obligations, nine are likely to be credit cards and four are likely to be installment loans. (Source: myfico.com)
The average consumer's oldest obligation is 14 years old, indicating that he or she has been managing credit for some time. In fact, one out of four consumers had credit histories of 20 years or longer. Only one in 20 consumers had credit histories shorter than two years. (Source: myfico.com)
Approximately 51 percent of the U.S. population has at least two credit cards. (Source: Experian national score index study, February 2007)
At about 20 percent, New Hampshire and New Jersey have the largest concentration of consumers with 10 or more credit cards. (Source: Experian national score index study, February 2007)
Consumers carry more than 1 billion Visa cards worldwide. More than 450 million of those cards are in the United States. (Source: Visa USA internal statistics, 4th quarter 2006)
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Debt totals

In 2007, the average balance for those carrying a balance rose 30.4 percent, to $7,300. Meanwhile, the median balance -- meaning half owe more and half owe less -- for those carrying a balance rose 25.0 percent, to $3,000. These increases followed slower changes over the preceding three years, when the median increased 9.1 percent and the average climbed 16.7 percent. (Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, February 2009)
In 2007, credit card balances made up 3.5 percent of the total debt for all U.S. families, including those with and without credit card debt. (Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, February 2009)
In 2007, fewer than half of U.S. families (46.1 percent) held credit card debt. That's virtually unchanged from 2004's 46.2 percent number. (Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, February 2009)
Balances on bank cards accounted for 87.1 percent of outstanding credit card balances in 2007, up from 84.9 percent in 2004. (Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, February 2009)
Of the 73.0 percent of families with credit cards in 2007, only 60.3 percent had a balance at the time of the interview; in 2004, 74.9 percent had cards, and 58.0 percent of these families had an outstanding balance on them. (Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, February 2009)
"Total bankcard debt per bankcard borrower" is $5,710. This was alternately described as the total balance of bank-issued credit cards per consumer. (Source: TransUnion, December 2008)
The average American with a credit file is responsible for $16,635 in debt, excluding mortages, according to Experian. (Source: U.S. News and World Report, "The End of Credit Card Consumerism," August 2008)
76 percent of undergraduates have credit cards, and the average undergrad has $2,200 in credit card debt. Additionally, they will amass almost $20,000 in student debt. (Source: Nellie Mae, "Undergraduate Students and Credit Cards in 2004: An Analysis of Usage Rates and Trends.")
Average credit card debt among indebted young adults increased by 55 percent between 1992 and 2001, to $4,088. (Source: "Generation Broke: Growth of Debt Among Young Americans")
The average credit card indebted young adult household now spends nearly 24 percent of its income on debt payments, four percentage points more, on average, than young adults did in 1992. (Source: "Generation Broke: Growth of Debt Among Young Americans")
Among the 35 percent of college students with credit cards that do not pay their balances in full every month, the average balance is $452. This is down 19 percent from 2007. Moreover, this balance is approximately one-third the size of the average balance for active nonstudent young adult accounts and one-fourth the size of active accounts for older adults. (Source: Student Monitor annual financial services study, 2008)
Total U.S. consumer debt (which includes credit card debt and noncredit-card debt but not mortgage debt) reached $2.56 trillion at the end of 2008, up from $2.52 trillion at the end of 2007. (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report, February 2009)
Total U.S. consumer revolving debt fell to $963.5 billion in December 2008. About 98 percent of that debt was credit card debt. (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report, February 2009)
As of 2007, the majority of U.S. households had no credit card debt. (Source: Federal Reserve Board survey of consumer finances, February 2009)
When you take a snapshot of how much an individual bank cardholder has in debt on a given day, and ignore whether that debt will be paid off in the grace period, Alaska is the state whose cardholders have the highest debt: $7,827. Alaska is followed by Nevada at $6,636 and Tennessee at $6,568. At the other end of the scale, the states whose citizens carry the lowest card debt at a given moment are Iowa ($4,277), North Dakota ($4,403) and West Virginia ($4,517). (Source: TransUnion, December 2008)
About 40 percent of credit cardholders carry a balance of less than $1,000. About 15 percent are far less conservative in their use of credit cards and have total card balances in excess of $10,000. When you look at the total of all credit obligations combined (except mortgage loans), 48 percent of consumers carry less than $5,000 of debt. This includes all credit cards, lines of credit and loans -- everything but mortgages. Nearly 37 percent carry more than $10,000 of nonmortgage debt as reported to the credit bureaus. (Source: myfico.com)
The typical consumer has access to approximately $19,000 on all credit cards combined. More than half of all people with credit cards are using less than 30 percent of their total credit card limit. Just over one in seven is using 80 percent or more of their credit card limit. (Source: myfico.com)
The average college graduate has nearly $20,000 in debt; average credit card debt has increased 47 percent between 1989 and 2004 for 25-to 34-year-olds and 11 percent for 18-to 24-year olds. Nearly one in five 18-to 24-year-olds is in "debt hardship," up from 12 percent in 1989. (Source: Demos.org, "The Economic State of Young America," May 2008)
More than 90 percent of survey respondents believe they had the same amount -- or less -- debt as the average American. (Source: CreditCards.com survey, June 2007)
Anchorage, Alaska, has the highest credit card debt. (Source: Men's Health magazine's personal debt survey, July 2008)
Lincoln, Neb., has the lowest credit card debt. (Source: Men's Health magazine's personal debt survey, July 2008)
28 percent of those surveyed say their ability to pay off their credit card balance has become more difficult. (Source: Javelin Strategy & Research, "Credit Card Issuer Profitability in a Difficult Economy," July 2008)
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Business credit cards

Credit cards are now the most common source of financing for America’s small-business owners. (Source: National Small Business Association survey, 2008)
44 percent of small-business owners identified credit cards as a source of financing that their company had used in the previous 12 months —- more than any other source of financing, including business earnings. In 1993, only 16 percent of small-businesses owners identified credit cards as a source of funding they had used in the preceding 12 months. (Source: National Small Business Association survey, 2008)

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Online use

Seventy three percent of survey respondents said they have logged into their credit card account via the Internet. (Source: ComScore, September 2008)
More than eight out of 10 respondents said that checking their statement online is important to them, which is consistent with results from the 2007 survey. (Source: ComScore, September 2008)

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Delinquencies, late payments

From 1989 to 2004, the percentage of cardholders incurring fees due to late payments of 60 days or more increased from 4.8 percent to 8.0 percent. (Source: Demos.org, "Borrowing To Make Ends Meet," November 2007)
One-fourth of the students surveyed in US PIRG's 2008 Campus Credit Card Trap report said that they have paid a late fee, and 15 percent have paid an "over the limit" fee. (Source: U.S. PIRG, "Campus Credit Card Trap")
When finances are tight, 59 percent of people would pay their credit card bills last. A majority -- 52 percent -- would pay the mortgage first and 38 percent say they would pay for utilities before paying other obligations. (Source: CreditCards.com survey, December 2008)
The ratio of credit card borrowers delinquent on one or more of their credit cards is 1.19 percent. (Source: TransUnion, June 2008)
Delinquency was highest in Nevada (1.74 percent), followed closely by Mississippi (1.53 percent) and Florida (1.51 percent). The lowest credit card loan delinquency rates were found in North Dakota (0.67 percent), Utah (0.75 percent) and South Dakota (0.79 percent). (Source: TransUnion, June 2008)
On average, today's consumers are paying their bills on time, with less than half of all consumers have ever been reported as 30 or more days late on a payment. Only three out of 10 have ever been 60 or more days overdue on any credit obligation. Seventy-seven percent of all consumers have never had a loan or account that was 90+ days overdue, and fewer than 20 percent have ever had a loan or account closed by the lender due to default . (Source: myfico.com)
The average late fee was found to have dropped to $25.90, down from $28 in 2007. Consumer Action reported that late fees reached up to $39 per incident. (Source: Consumer Action credit card survey, July 2008)
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Bankruptcy

Personal bankruptcies surged to more than 1 million filings in the United States in 2008, the most since a rewrite of bankruptcy laws took effect in 2005. (Sounce: American Bankruptcy Institute, January 2009)
For the second straight year, Tennessee had the distinction of having the overall highest per capita rate of filings, with 7.65 filings per 1,000 residents. Alaska retained its title as the land of the fewest personal bankruptcies -- only 877 were filed all year. That works out to a rate of 1.28 per 1,000 (Source: Automated Access to Court Electronic Records or AACER, January 2009)
Young Americans now have the second highest rate of bankruptcy, just after those aged 35 to 44. The rate among 25- to 34-year-olds increased between 1991 and 2001, indicating that this generation is more likely to file bankruptcy as young adults than were young boomers at the same age. (Source: "Generation Broke: Growth of Debt Among Young Americans")
Memphis, Tenn., consumers have suffered the most bankruptcies. (Source: Men's Health magazine's personal debt survey, July 2008)
Yonkers, N.Y., has suffered the fewest bankruptcies. (Source: Men's Health magazine's personal debt survey, July 2008)
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Payment trends

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