April 29, 2014

Poll Results Show Possible Impact on Debt Collection

Consumers are more likely to pay their balances each month and overall credit card debt among Gallup’s poll participants has declined since 2008.

Credit card holders in the United States are more fiscally responsible about paying their balance each month than they were in the last decade, according to results from a poll by Gallup.

Consumers in the United States are less reliant on credit cards than in the past decade and have less total credit card debt, according to the poll. Additionally, consumers are more likely to pay the full balances on their card each month.

“This suggests that credit cards—a staple of American consumer life for decades—might not be as vital a financial tool to individuals as they had been in the 1990s and 2000s, when Americans often used their credit cards to make ends meet,” according to Gallup.

“As a result of the Great Recession, however, credit card companies raised interest rates for many cardholders, which may have altered Americans’ spending and credit card habits.”

Key findings from participants in the poll include:

Twenty-nine percent said they do not have any credit cards, up from 22 percent in 2008.
Sixty-four percent said they always or usually pay their full credit card balance each month, which is the highest amount recorded by Gallup.
The average credit card debt is $2,426, a decline of more than $500 from 2008 and the lowest amount recorded by Gallup.
Among only credit card holders, the average credit card debt is $3,573, a decline of nearly $300 from 2008, but $150 higher than in 2006.

www.acainternational.org

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