PSCU Payments Index February 2024: A Deep Dive into Delinquencies

2024 has shown continued positive consumer spending trends – as credit card debt continues to rise. In the February 2024 edition of the PSCU Payments Index, we present a Deep Dive on credit card delinquency rates.

Key takeaways include:

• Debit purchase growth, up 3.4% for January, again continued to outpace growth in credit purchases, up 1.1%. For transactions, debit grew 2.4% and credit grew 2.3% year over year.
• Delinquencies have been on the rise after bottoming out in May 2021 at 1.03%. Overall credit card delinquencies for January 2024 were 2.67%. We also see that delinquency rates lower as age demographics get higher. For year-over-year changes, there were notable increases for Older Millennials, up 0.77 percentage points to 3.86% for January 2024, and Gen X, up 0.63 percentage points to 2.55%.
• The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) increased 0.3% in January, while the 12-month rate of inflation was 3.1%. Shelter contributed to over two-thirds of the increase. Excluding the volatile Energy and Food sectors, the core CPI index increased 0.4% from December, putting the 12-month Core CPI index at 3.9%. 
• Through the lenses of Discretionary and Non-Discretionary purchases, growth in debit purchases, up 2.6% and 3.5% respectively, outpaced growth in credit purchases, each up 1.1%.

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the PSCU Payments Index delivered directly to your inbox each month.