www.consumerfinance.gov Open in urlscan Pro
2a02:26f0:480:baf::31d7  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

GET https://search.consumerfinance.gov/search

<form class="m-global-search_content-form" action="https://search.consumerfinance.gov/search" method="get">
  <input type="hidden" name="utf8" value="✓">
  <input type="hidden" id="affiliate" name="affiliate" value="cfpb">
  <div class="o-form__input-w-btn">
    <div class="o-form__input-w-btn_input-container m-form-field">
      <div class="a-text-input__full input-contains-label">
        <label for="m-global-search_query" class="input-contains-label_before
                                     input-contains-label_before__search">
          <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="cf-icon-svg cf-icon-svg__search" viewBox="0 0 15 19">
            <path d="M14.147 15.488a1.112 1.112 0 0 1-1.567 0l-3.395-3.395a5.575 5.575 0 1 1 1.568-1.568l3.394 3.395a1.112 1.112 0 0 1 0 1.568m-6.361-3.903a4.488 4.488 0 1 0-1.681.327 4.443 4.443 0 0 0 1.68-.327z"></path>
          </svg>
          <span class="u-visually-hidden">Search</span>
        </label>
        <input id="m-global-search_query" name="query" type="search" title="Search the CFPB" class="a-text-input" value="" placeholder="Search the CFPB">
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="o-form__input-w-btn_btn-container">
      <button class="a-btn">Search</button>
    </div>
  </div>
</form>

POST /subscriptions/new/

<form class="o-form o-form__email-signup" id="o-form__email-signup_1" method="POST" action="/subscriptions/new/" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded">
  <div class="m-notification" data-js-hook="state_atomic_init">
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="cf-icon-svg cf-icon-svg__information-round" viewBox="0 0 17 19">
      <path d="M16.417 9.583A7.917 7.917 0 1 1 8.5 1.666a7.917 7.917 0 0 1 7.917 7.917M9.64 5.78a1.136 1.136 0 1 0-1.136 1.135A1.136 1.136 0 0 0 9.64 5.781zm-.344 2.884a.792.792 0 1 0-1.583 0v5.203a.792.792 0 0 0 1.583 0z"></path>
    </svg>
    <div class="m-notification_content">
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="m-form-field">
    <label class="a-label a-label__heading" for="email_1"> Email address </label>
    <input class="a-text-input a-text-input__full" id="email_1" name="email" type="email" placeholder="mail@example.com" required="">
  </div>
  <div class="o-email-signup_buttons">
    <button class="a-btn">Sign up</button>
    <a class="a-btn a-btn__link a-btn__secondary" href="/privacy/email-privacy-act-statement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
                See Privacy Act statement
            </a>
  </div>
  <input type="hidden" name="code" value="USCFPB_23">
</form>

Text Content

Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
 * Español
 * 中文
 * Tiếng Việt
 * 한국어
 * Tagalog
 * Pусский
 * العربية
 * Kreyòl Ayisyen

(855) 411-2372
Submit a Complaint
Search
Search Close
Search
Search
Open the main menu Close the main menu
 * Submit a Complaint
 * Consumer Education
   Back
    * Resources for Yourself
    * Resources for Helping Others
    * Coronavirus Resources
    * Consumer Complaint Database
   
   Money Topics
    * Auto Loans
    * Bank Accounts & Services
    * Credit Cards
    * Credit Reports & Scores
    * Debt Collection
    * Fraud & Scams
   
   Money Topics
    * Money Transfers
    * Mortgages
    * Payday Loans
    * Prepaid Cards
    * Reverse Mortgages
    * Student Loans
   
   Featured
    * Explore guides to help you plan for big financial goals
   
   Additional Resources
    * Submit a Complaint
    * Tell Your Story
    * Order free brochures
    * Browse Ask CFPB

 * Rules & Policy
   Back
   Rules & Policy Overview
    * Final Rules
    * Interactive Regulations
   
    * Rules Under Development
    * Notices and Opportunities to Comment
    * Regulatory Agenda
    * Petitions for Rulemaking
   
    * Competition and Innovation
    * Advisory Committees

 * Enforcement
   Back
   Enforcement Overview
    * Enforcement Actions
    * Enforcement by the Numbers
    * Investigatory Authority
   
    * Warning Letters
    * Payments to Harmed Consumers
    * Industry Whistleblowers

 * Compliance
   Back
   Compliance Overview
    * Compliance Resources
    * Advisory Opinion Program
    * Consumer Financial Protection Circulars
   
    * Supervision and Examinations
    * Supervisory Highlights
    * Supervisory Guidance
   
    * Registration & Submission Programs
    * Amicus Program
    * Consumer Complaint Program

 * Data & Research
   Back
   Data & Research Overview
    * Reports
    * Research Hub
    * Consumer Complaint Database
    * Mortgage Database (HMDA)
    * Small Business Lending Database
   
    * Public Data Inventory
    * Consumer Credit Trends
    * Mortgage Performance Trends
    * Financial Well-Being Survey
   
    * Credit Card Surveys & Agreements
    * Prepaid Account Agreements
   
   Featured
    * Help advance financial well-being

 * News
   Back
    * Press Releases
    * Speeches & Op-eds
    * Testimony
    * Statements
   
    * Blog
    * Director’s Notebook
    * Recent Updates
    * Consumer Advisories

 * Español
 * 中文
 * Tiếng Việt
 * 한국어
 * Tagalog
 * Pусский
 * العربية
 * Kreyòl Ayisyen

(855) 411-2372
/ Newsroom


CFPB REPORT FINDS CREDIT CARD COMPANIES CHARGED CONSUMERS RECORD-HIGH $130
BILLION IN INTEREST AND FEES IN 2022

Consumers with revolving debts on average pay far more in interest and fees than
get back in rewards

OCT 25, 2023
Share & print
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today
released its biennial report to Congress on the consumer credit card market. The
report found that in 2022 credit card companies charged consumers more than $105
billion in interest and more than $25 billion in fees. Total outstanding credit
card debt eclipsed $1 trillion for the first time since the CFPB began
collecting this data. The report highlights areas of concern, including more
consumers carrying balances month to month, with many falling deeper into debt
over time, while credit card company profits remained significantly above
pre-pandemic levels.

“Last year, Americans paid $130 billion in interest and fees on their credit
cards," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "With credit card debt crossing the
trillion dollar mark, we will be working to prevent bait-and-switch tactics when
it comes to rewards and to increase refinancing activity so consumers can get
lower rates.”

Under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD
Act), the CFPB regularly reviews developments in the credit card market. Today’s
report, the CFPB’s sixth, identified several recent trends in consumer credit
card activity, including:

 * Credit card company profits remain high: Major credit card companies’ profits
   are now higher than pre-pandemic levels, potentially signaling a lack of
   competition in a market consistently dominated by the top 10 credit card
   companies. Profits for general purpose cards reached 5.9 percent in 2022, as
   measured by annual return on assets, compared to 4.5 percent in 2019, after
   peaking at 9.6 percent in 2021.
 * Annual percentage rates (APRs) continue to rise far above the cost of
   offering credit: Major credit card companies continue to set interest rates
   far above major indexes like the federal funds target rate, with an average
   APR margin of 15.4 percentage points above the prime rate in 2022. Margins
   continued to rise for across all credit score tiers, even as charge-off rates
   fell during the pandemic.
 * Consumers charged $130 billion in interest and fees: Credit card companies
   charged borrowers the highest amount of interest and fees ever measured by
   the CFPB’s data. Cardholders were charged over $105 billion in interest in
   2022, along with $25 billion in fees. For consumers who carried a balance,
   they paid about 20 percent of their average balance in interest and fees over
   the course of the year (18 percent of annualized balances on general purpose
   cards and 21 percent on private label accounts). Many cardholders with
   subprime scores paid 30 to 40 cents in interest and fees per dollar borrowed
   each year.
 * Consumers were charged $14.5 billion in late fees, returning to pre-pandemic
   levels and up from $11.3 billion in 2021: Late fees continued to be the most
   significant fee assessed to cardholders in both dollar amount and frequency.
   More consumers are facing difficulties paying their credit card bills on
   time, with delinquency rates rising since the end of pandemic relief programs
   in 2021.
 * Credit card debt reached a record $1 trillion: The CFPB’s data showed credit
   card debt at the end of 2022 surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, and
   annual spending on credit cards increased to $3.2 trillion. The report also
   found that total average credit card balances per cardholder returned to
   about $5,300, about the same as before the pandemic. All in all, the data
   show more cardholders are being charged late fees, falling behind on
   payments, and facing higher costs on growing debt.
 * More borrowers getting caught in debt: More cardholders are carrying balances
   month to month or failing behind on payments, and a greater percentage of
   balances are going more than 180 days delinquent. Nearly one-tenth of credit
   card users find themselves in “persistent debt” where they are charged more
   in interest and fees each year than they pay toward the principal—a pattern
   that could become increasingly difficult for some consumers to escape.
   Pandemic relief programs in 2020 and 2021 enabled some cardholders to pay
   down credit card balances, but the number of people facing persistent debt
   could climb if interest rates remain elevated.
 * Consumers with revolving balances were charged more in interest and fees than
   they earned in rewards: In 2022, consumers who carried debt from month to
   month paid 94 percent of total interest and fees charged but earned just 27
   percent of rewards at major credit card companies. Consumers who paid their
   balances off each month paid just six percent of interest and fees charged
   and earned 73 percent of total rewards.

The report also finds a continuing shift toward digital communication. Consumers
are increasingly using digital portals, such as website and mobile apps, to
manage their cards and make payments. Nearly 80 percent of cardholders are
enrolled in their card’s mobile app, with adoption rates even higher for
consumers under 65. The report also finds that credit card companies and debt
collectors are relying more on text messaging and email to contact borrowers
about past-due balances, alongside more traditional means like phone calls or
postal mail.

Read the 2023 Consumer Credit Card Market report.

Consumers can submit complaints about financial products or services by visiting
the CFPB’s website or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

Employees who believe their companies have violated federal consumer financial
protection laws are encouraged to send information about what they know to
whistleblower@cfpb.gov



###



The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a 21st century agency that
implements and enforces Federal consumer financial law and ensures that markets
for consumer financial products are fair, transparent, and competitive. For more
information, visit www.consumerfinance.gov.

Topics:
 * • Credit CARD Act
 * • Credit cards


PRESS INFORMATION

If you want to republish the article or have questions about the content, please
contact the press office.

Go to press resources page


STAY INFORMED



Subscribe to our email newsletter. We will update you on newsroom updates.



Email address
Sign up See Privacy Act statement

Subscribe to our RSS feed to get the latest content in your reader.

Subscribe to RSS
Back to top
 * About Us
 * Contact Us
 * Careers
 * Events
 * Industry Whistleblowers
 * CFPB Ombudsman

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

 * FOIA
 * Privacy
 * Website Privacy Policy & Legal Notices
 * Data
 * Open Government
 * Information Quality Guidelines

 * Diversity & Inclusion
 * Administrative Adjudication
 * Plain Writing
 * Accessibility
 * Office of Civil Rights
 * No FEAR Act & Cummings Act
 * Tribal

 * USA.gov
 * Office of Inspector General

An official website of the United States government