Raynor de Best
Content expert covering payments and (crypto)currencies
Credit cards worldwide - statistics & facts
Credit card use varies significantly between countries, with Visa or Mastercard-issued credit cards being major digital payment options in the U.S. and Canada. Statista estimates that credit card ownership will remain highest in Canada by 2029. Are other countries following suit, using credit cards more often when faced with a cost of living crisis in 2024?
With financial uncertainty mounting as economies try to keep inflation under control, credit cards may be one of the most tempting ways to alleviate some of the pressure. This trend may continue in 2025, until prices might go down somewhat.
International credit cards versus local options
Survey data suggests that Canada, Israel, and Iceland were the only countries with credit card ownership higher than 74 percent. This is because credit cars increasingly compete against other, typically local, payment options available. The number of credit cards per capita in various countries in Europe, for example, was significantly lower than that of debit cards. In developing countries, domestic real-time payments (RTP) rails are claiming top spot as the country's main digital payment method. The top five countries in the world with such local RTP systems include the likes of India, Brazil, and Thailand.Credit cards in India: The fastest growth behind UPI
Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, is India's main real-time payment option and is widely regarded as one of the world's main digital wallets. The number of credit cards in India, however, doubled meanwhile. The growth is notable, as India's credit card penetration rate is relatively low. The substantial change in payment behavior is largely attributed to e-commerce, and Indian consumers using credit cards to cover for more expensive purchases. Indeed, the share of credit cards in Indian POS is forecast to decline.Credit card debt and cost of living
Financial hardship led consumers to use credit cards more often. U.S. credit card balances reached over 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of 2023. Outstanding balances on credit card accounts in the UK also increased for several months in a row in 2023. The announcement of the U.S. Fed in September 2024 to lower its interest rate by 0.5 percent will eventually bring welcome relief to credit card debtors. It might take a while before credit card rates reflect the change, however. Current predictions are that it may be until 2025 before consumers notice any changes to their rates.With financial uncertainty mounting as economies try to keep inflation under control, credit cards may be one of the most tempting ways to alleviate some of the pressure. This trend may continue in 2025, until prices might go down somewhat.
