CONSUMER STATISTICS - Quia



CONSUMER STATISTICS

Card ownership

• 176.8 million credit cardholders in 2008 (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• 609.8 million credit cards held by U.S. consumers. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• The average credit cardholder has 3.5 credit cards. Including both cardholders and non-cardholders, the average consumer has 2.7 cards each. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• Total credit cards in U.S. through yearend 2009: 576.4 million, down 15 percent;

• The average age at which a U.S. consumer under the age of 35 first adopted a credit card is 20.8 years. The average age of credit card adoption for a consumer over the age of 65 is 40.6 years. (Source: "The 2008 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston)

• About 21 percent of consumer currently have a contactless debit card, while 26 percent have a contactless credit card. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• 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)

• Eighty-four percent of the student population overall have credit cards, an increase of approximately 11 percent since the fall of 2004. (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)

• Only 2 percent of undergraduates had no credit history. (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)

• Half of college undergraduates had four or more credit cards in 2008. That's up from 43 percent in 2004 and just 32 percent in 2000.  (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)

• Since 2004, students who arrived on campus as freshmen with a credit card already in-hand have increased from 23 percent to 39 percent. (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 2009)

• 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: )

• 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: )

• Approximately 51 percent of the U.S. population has at least two 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)

Debt totals

• Average credit card debt per household with credit card debt: $16,007* 

• Total U.S. consumer debt (which includes credit card debt and noncredit-card debt but not mortgage debt) reached $2.45 trillion at the end of 2009, down sharply from $2.56 trillion at the end of 2008. (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report, March 2010)

• Total U.S. consumer revolving debt fell to $866 billion at the end of 2009, down from $958 billion at the end of 2008. About 98 percent of that debt was credit card debt. (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report, March 2010)

• The mean, or average, unpaid credit card balance last month was $3,389. The median is $90. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• About 56 percent of consumers carried an unpaid balance in the past 12 months. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• About 45 percent of consumers said their unpaid credit card balance had gotten "lower" or "much lower" in the past 12 months. Only 26 percent said it had gotten "higher" or "much higher." (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• Slightly more than half of Americans -- 51 percent -- said that in the past 12 months, they carried over a balance and was charged interest on a credit card. (Source: "Financial Capability in the United States," FINRA Investor Education Foundation, December 2009)

• Total U.S. credit card outstandings through yearend 2009: $772.19 billion (Was $862.4 billion); (Source: Nilson Report, February 2010)

• At the end of 2008, Americans' credit card debt reached $972.73 billion, up 1.12 percent from 2007. That number includes both general purpose credit cards and private label credit cards that aren't owned by a bank. (Source: Nilson Report, April 2009)

• Average credit card debt per household -- regardless of whether they have a credit card or not -- was $8,329 at the end of 2008. (Source: Nilson Report, April 2009)

• The average outstanding credit card debt for households that have a credit card was $10,679 at the end of 2008. One year earlier, that average was $10,637. (Source: Nilson Report, April 2009)

• The average balance per open credit card -- including both retail and bank cards -- was $1,157 at the end of 2008. That's up from $1,033 at the end of 2006, a growth of nearly 11 percent in two years. (Source: Experian marketing insight snapshot, March 2009)

• As of March 2009, U.S. revolving consumer debt, made up almost entirely of credit card debt, was about $950 Billion. In the fourth quarter of 2008, 13.9 percent of consumer disposable income went to service this debt. (Source: U.S. Congress' Joint Economic Committee, "Vicious Cycle: How Unfair Credit Card Company Practices Are Squeezing Consumers and Undermining the Recovery," May 2009)

• "As household wealth has declined in the downturn, more American families are facing financial distress due to high debt burdens. In 2007, before the recession began, 14.7 percent of U.S. families had debt exceeding 40 percent of their income." (Source: U.S. Congress' Joint Economic Committee, "Vicious Cycle: How Unfair Credit Card Company Practices Are Squeezing Consumers and Undermining the Recovery," May 2009)

• Undergraduates are carrying record-high credit card balances. The average (mean) balance grew to $3,173, the highest in the years the study has been conducted. Median debt grew from 2004’s $946 to $1,645. Twenty-one percent of undergraduates had balances of between $3,000 and $7,000, also up from the last study. (Source: Sallie Mae, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards," April 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 mortgages, according to Experian. (Source: U.S. News and World Report, "The End of Credit Card Consumerism," August 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: )

• 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: )

• 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: , "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: survey, June 2007)

Delinquencies, late payments

• According to Fitch Ratings, the number of cardholders 60 or more days late on payments fell in January of 2010 to 4.50 percent. That number is flat year-to-year. Those 30 days late declined to 5.72 percent and is down 5 percent year-to-year. (Source: Associated Press, March 2010)

• According to Fitch Ratings, the number of credit card defaults hit 11.37 percent, the highest level since a record 11.52 percent in September 2009. (Source: Associated Press, March 2010)

• In the last 12 months, 15 percent of American adults, or nearly 34 million people, have been late making a credit card payment and 8 percent (18 million people) have missed a payment entirely. (Source: National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 2009 Financial Literacy Survey, April 2009)

• 26 percent of Americans, or more than 58 million adults, admit to not paying all of their bills on time. (Source: National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 2009 Financial Literacy Survey, April 2009)

• Penalty fees from credit cards will add up to about $20.5 billion in 2009, according to R. K. Hammer, a consultant to the credit card industry. (Source: New York Times, September 2009)

• Only eight percent of cards with penalty rate conditions offered to restore the original rate terms when payments are made on-time, usually after 12 months. (Source: Pew Safe Credit Cards Project, March 2009)

• 72 percent of cards included offers of low promotional rates which  issuers could revoke after a single late payment. (Source: Pew Safe Credit Cards Project, March 2009)

• 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: survey, December 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: )

Bankruptcy

• Total bankruptcy filings in 2009 reached 1.4 million in 2009, up from 1.09 million in 2008. The vast majority were personal bankruptcies -- Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Business bankruptcies made up 6 percent of all filings. (Source: AACER, the American Bankruptcy Institute, January 2010)

• 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")

Payment trends

• About 69 percent of consumers have used a credit card in the last month. About 73 percent have used one in the past year. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• About 56 percent of consumers carried an unpaid balance in the past 12 months. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• About 45 percent of consumers said their unpaid credit card balance had gotten "lower" or "much lower" in the past 12 months. Only 26 percent said it had gotten "higher" or "much higher." (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• "More consumers now have debit cards than credit cards, and consumers use debit cards more often than cash, credit cards, or checks individually." (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

• Nearly one in three Americans -- 29 percent -- said that in some of the past 12 months, they paid only the minimum payment on their credit cards. (Source: "Financial Capability in the United States," FINRA Investor Education Foundation, December 2009)

• More than half of Americans -- 54 percent -- said that in the past 12 months, they always paid their credit cards in full. (Source: "Financial Capability in the United States," FINRA Investor Education Foundation, December 2009)

• 41 percent of cardholders from the ages of 18 to 29 made only the minimum required payment on a credit card in some of the past 12 months. (Source: "Financial Capability in the United States," FINRA Investor Education Foundation, December 2009)

• Three in four cardholders age 60 or older always paid their credit card in full in the past 12 months. (Source: "Financial Capability in the United States," FINRA Investor Education Foundation, December 2009)

• 26 percent of Americans, or more than 58 million adults, admit to not paying all of their bills on time. Among African-Americans, this number is at 51 percent.  (Source: National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 2009 Financial Literacy Survey, April 2009)

• The average credit card-indebted family in 2004 allocated 21 percent of its income to servicing monthly debt compared to the 13 percent dedicated to debt payments among all households. (Source: , "Borrowing To Make Ends Meet," November 2007)

• 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: survey, December 2008)

• 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)

• Of every $100 spent by consumers, nearly $40 is in a form other than cash or check. (Source: Visa USA internal statistics, 4th quarter 2006)

• 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)

Interest rates/ APRs

• 36 percent of respondents said they didn't know the interest rate on the card they use most often. (Source: FINRA Investor Education Foundation, "Financial Capability in the United States," December 2009)

• The national average default rate as January 2010 stood at 27.88 percent and the mean default rate is 28.99 percent. (Source: survey, January 2010)

• Slightly more than half of Americans -- 51 percent -- said that in the past 12 months, they carried over a balance and was charged interest on a credit card. (Source: "Financial Capability in the United States," FINRA Investor Education Foundation, December 2009) 

• 93 percent of cards allowed the issuer to raise any interest rate at any time by changing the account agreement. (Source: Pew Safe Credit Cards Project, March 2009)

• Only eight percent of cards with penalty rate conditions offered to restore the original rate terms when payments are made on-time, usually after 12 months. (Source: Pew Safe Credit Cards Project, March 2009)

• 72 percent of cards included offers of low promotional rates which  issuers could revoke after a single late payment. (Source: Pew Safe Credit Cards Project, March 2009)

• For families having any bank-type cards, the median number of such cards remained at 2; the median credit limit on all such cards rose 21.4 percent, to $18,000, and the median interest rate on the card with the largest balance (or on the newest card, if no outstanding balances existed) rose 1.0 percentage point, to 12.5 percent. (Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, February 2009)  

Fees

• Penalty fees from credit cards will add up to about $20.5 billion in 2009, according to R. K. Hammer, a consultant to the credit card industry. (Source: New York Times, September 2009)

• In the first 3 months of 2009, 27 percent of card offers carried an annual fee, up from 18 percent in 2008, according to the financial research firm Tower Group. (Source: Money Blog, August 2009)

• Thirty-one of the 39 credit cards did not charge an annual fee. That marked a larger number of credit cards with no annual fee than in 2008, when 35 of 41cards had no annual fee. The cost of those fees ranged from $18 to $150. (Source: Consumer Action credit card survey, July 2009)

• The average late fee was found to have risen to $28.19, way up from $25.90 in 2008. Consumer Action reported that late fees reached up to $39 per incident. (Source: Consumer Action credit card survey, July 2009)

• 92 percent of cards included a fee for exceeding the credit limit, including 100 percent of all student cards. The amount of the overlimit fee is $39 on most accounts. (Source: Pew Safe Credit Cards Project, March 2009)

• 64 percent of respondents said having "no annual fee" was an important reason why they chose the credit card they did the last time they got a new card. (Source: Aite Group survey, January 2008)

Total charges and transactions 

• Credit card purchase transactions in U.S. through yearend 2009: 20.2 billion, down 4 percent.

• Debit & prepaid card transactions in U.S. through yearend 2009: 36.2 billion, up 13 percent. Breakdown by card company: Visa - 26.9 billion, up 13 percent; MasterCard - 9.3 billion, up 11 percent. (Source: Nilson Report, February 2010)

• There were 26.5 billion U.S. credit card transactions in 2008, totalling $2.1 trillion. That's up from 21 billion transactions totalling $1.4 trillion in 2003. (Source: Nilson Report, December 2009)

• Today, credit cards are responsible for more than $2.5 trillion in transactions a year and are accepted at more than 24 million locations in more than 200 countries and territories. (Source: American Bankers Association, March 2009)

• It is estimated that there are 10,000 payment card transactions made every second around the world. (Source: American

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download