Americans increasingly turned to their credit cards to make ends meet heading into the summer, sending aggregate balances over $1 trillion for the first time ever, the New York Federal Reserve reported Tuesday, Aug. 8.
Total credit card indebtedness rose by $45 billion in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of more than 4%. That took the total amount owed to $1.03 trillion, the highest gross value in Fed data going back to 2003.
The increase in the category was the most notable area as total household debt edged higher by about $16 billion to $17.06 trillion, also a new record. As credit card use grew, so did the delinquency rate.
The Fed’s measure of credit card debt 30 or more days late climbed to 7.2% in the second quarter, up from 6.5% in Q1 and the highest rate since the first quarter of 2012 though close to the long-run normal, central bank officials said. Learn more.