#creditspending

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How Many Credit Cards Do Americans Have?

Americans use a lot of credit cards; the facts don’t lie. According to Federal Reserve data from 2014, 72% of consumers held at least one credit card. That’s a lot of people with a lot of plastic. That purchasing power has to originate from somewhere, and oftentimes that somewhere is your credit union. If you market your credit card services on a consistent basis, you have contributed to these stats. If not, let the data sink in. You might be missing out on some market share.  

Credit Cards by the Numbers

Here is the most recent data, pulled from a couple of different sources.

Federal Reserve data from 2014 found the following:

roughly 30% of Americans held 1 to 2 credit cards

almost 20% claimed to possess 3 or 4 credit cards

around 10% held 5 or 6 credit cards

7% of Americans had 7 credit cards or more

Data from Experian shows an increase in the number of credit cards per person, from 2.09 in 2013 to 2.24 in 2015.

What This Means for Your Credit Union

What all of this means is really simple. Consumers want credit, and they want multiple credit cards or lines of credit. The demand may increase in 2017 as well thanks to a change in credit score reporting. The Consumer Data Industry Association is implementing new standards effective July 1st. The change is in response to complaints filed by consumers over disputed items on their credit report. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau initiated a call for investigation which uncovered some reporting problems with the big three. As a result, the CDIA updated their standards as a proactive measure. The resulting change could see some civil debts and tax liens fall off of certain consumer’s credit report.

Higher credit scores could encourage those consumers to seek other forms of credit in an attempt to push their score higher, or help improve their score over time as they responsibly maintain the new accounts. For this reason, your share secured members may seek a migration towards more traditional forms of credit. Credit cards will certainly be on their radar. This could see the number of average credit cards per person increasing even more over the next few years.

In the meantime, make sure you visit your consumer lending forms package. Compliance is key, and your forms need to be up to date as well. If you have any questions about your forms, we can help. Reach out today and let us show you how Oak Tree can make a difference at ClientServices@oaktreebiz.com.