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The Daily Insight Hub

How do banks gain profit from credit card?

Author

Emma Miller

Updated on February 01, 2026

But have you ever found yourself wondering how they actually do that? Credit card companies make most of their money from three major things: interest, transaction fee, and the fee charged to the individual cardholders.

What is the profit for credit card companies?

To simplify, we can safely assume that credit card companies are earning interest of 21% of the total outstanding balance. In other words, the amount spent on a credit card by the customers is fetching an interest of 21% to banks. From which line of credit, the bank can generate interest income of 21%.

What are 3 ways to avoid credit card fees once you have a credit card?

There’s an easy way to avoid finance charges: Pay your balance in full each month, and you’ll never pay a penny in interest. If you just can’t help carrying a balance, then you should aim to minimize your interest charges by using a low-interest credit card rather than a rewards card.

How do credit card companies make their money?

Credit card companies make the bulk of their money from three things: interest, fees charged to cardholders, and transaction fees paid by businesses that accept credit cards. Use credit cards wisely, and you can minimize the amount of money that credit card companies make off of you. » MORE: 8 credit card fees and how to avoid them

How is cash back profitable for credit card companies?

If the cardholder has a participating cash back rewards program, the credit card issuer simply shares some of the merchant fees with the consumer. The goal is to incentivize people to use their credit cards when making payments rather than cash or debit cards, which earns them no rewards.

How does a business use a credit card?

Some businesses use credit card surcharges to offset those costs and discourage credit card spending, but most merchants treat the fee as a cost of doing business.

How does a bank make money on rewards?

Issuing banks make money on rewards programs through a combination of interchange fees, interest revenue, late fees, slippage (expiring points or airline miles), rotating schedules, and lower marketing costs. These factors help to offset the cost of compensating the rewards partner companies.