How much money does credit card companies make?
Matthew Harrington
Updated on February 19, 2026
According to data from 2017, each active account makes $180 on average for credit card companies per year. Again, credit card companies make money primarily from the interest accrued and the interchange fees per account.
How much did the credit card industry make in 2019?
U.S. Bancorp said Wednesday that it brought in $7 billion last year with the help of a 7.6 percent increase in its credit card business. Citigroup, which reported a profit of $19 billion last year, said that its branded cards business increased 8 percent in North America last year.
How much is the credit card industry worth?
In May 2020, it stood at $995.6 billion. That’s lower than mid-2019, when US credit card users were juggling a combined credit card debt of $1.08 trillion. But the revolving credit industry is still big business, with only a handful of companies holding a percentage of the US credit card market share.
How big is the credit card processing industry?
The market size, measured by revenue, of the Credit Card Processing & Money Transferring industry is $84.3bn in 2021.
Is the credit card industry growing?
In 2019, credit card debt grew by over $92 billion. That’s the biggest credit card debt growth in a single year since the Great Recession and the fifth largest in over 30 years. Revolving credit hit an all-time record in February 2020 ($1.097 trillion).
How much does the credit card industry make?
According to industry research organization R.K. Hammer, credit card fee and interest income topped $163 billion in 2016. Credit card companies make money off cardholders in a wide range of ways — and their income has been experiencing solid growth for years.
How much money do we spend on credit cards a year?
We spend trillions of dollars and take on billions of dollars of debt a year using hundreds of millions of credit cards. Credit card debt has increased almost one-hundred fold since the Federal Reserve began tracking the trend. In fact, last year credit card debt grew by over $92 billion.
How does a bank make money with a credit card?
The primary way that banks make money is interest from credit card accounts. When a cardholder fails to repay their entire balance in a given month, interest fees are charged to the account.
What makes the credit card industry so important?
A credit card industry analysis helps determine the current state of credit card-issuing companies and their latest products and services. The credit card industry is anchored on continued innovations in marketing and technology, leading to increased competition among credit card companies.