A Record Amount Is on Americans' Credit Cards

Americans owe more money than ever on their credit cards: $1.14 trillion. That's after consumers added $27 billion to their tab in the second quarter, a 5.8% jump from the year before, a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says. Credit card delinquency rates increased, as well, CNBC reports. Borrowers ages 18 to 29 and 30 to 39 had the biggest delinquency increases; the New York Fed said those groups probably were heavily affected by COVID-19. They "may have overextended during the pandemic," researchers said.

Americans used some of their pandemic-related federal stimulus money to pay down their credit card debt in 2020, said Ted Rossman of Bankrate in a statement. But balances shot up again starting in 2021, he said, per CBS News, "fueled by a post-pandemic boom in services spending as well as high inflation and high interest rates." About 9.1% of credit card balances went into delinquency in the past year, the New York Fed found. The Urban Institute reported in May that more consumers are using credit cards to stay afloat, with 60% of them paying for their groceries that way. Overall, Rossman said, "More people are carrying more debt for longer periods of time." (More credit cards stories.)