JUNE 2004

Credit Cards

Experian, the large consumer reporting agency that maintains credit report files on 200 million U.S. consumers, recently released statistics on credit card usage. The statistics were derived from its ongoing nationwide sampling of consumer credit reports. Some of the highlights are listed below.

  • On average, American consumers have 3.2 credit cards.
  • Approximately 46 percent of the U.S. population has at least two credit cards, and approximately 10 percent of the U.S. population has more than 10 credit cards.
  • More than 16 percent of the U.S. population use at least half of their available credit.
Separately, Forrester Research released data on credit card account activity for April 2004. Data derive from Forrester's Ultimate Consumer Panel, which tracks actual credit card statements and transactions from a sample of 10,000 U.S. households. As reported in the American Banker, the percent of credit line utilized by account holders varied across major brands from a low of 25% for Discover cardholders, to a high of 41% by MasterCard cardholders. The table below provides more detail:

Cardholder Spending: Averages in April 2004
per credit card account
 
Visa
MasterCard
American Express
Discover
Purchases
9.9
7.0
16.6
12.7
Average Transaction
$64
$72
$91
$62
New Charges
$682
$503
$1,218
$687
Ending Balance
$2,554
$2,490
$3,600
$2,532
Credit Limit
$7,512
$6,292
$10,010
$8,358
Credit Used
36%
41%
29%
25%

Source: Forrester Research, Ultimate Consumer Panel, as reported in the American Banker

HOME | FORECASTS AND STATISTICS PRODUCT TRENDS | INDUSTRY TRENDS
LEGISLATIVE AND LIGITATIVE TRENDS

© 2004 American Financial Services Association. All rights reserved.