Credit Card Spending Rebounds. Penetration Holds Steady.

Credit union members are more willing to pull out their plastic post-pandemic, but the industry can still gain ground with wallet share.

CREDIT CARD PENETRATION
FOR U.S. CREDIT UNIONS | DATA AS OF 06.30.23
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  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, credit card spending declined drastically. It bottomed out at 17.2% but began to bounce back starting 2021.
  • Thanks in part to lower rates, credit card penetration at U.S. credit unions has increased 73 basis points in the past five years, trending upward alongside a rise in the average credit card balance.
  • Credit card lending at credit unions jumped 14.39% from the second quarter of 2023 to the third. Notably, the average credit card balance at credit unions reached $3,072 in the second quarter of 2023. This is the highest balance recorded since the fourth quarter of 2019. Nationwide, national credit card debt surged more than 4%, or $45 billion, in the second quarter according to reporting by CNBC.
  • Heightened spending activity has contributed to a noticeable uptick in credit card net charge-offs, which increased 137 basis points year-over-year at credit unions.

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Ampersand
September 11, 2023
CreditUnions.com
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