Credit Card Delinquencies Edge Up to 2.5% Across Top Banks

The average credit card delinquency rate ticked up from 2.48% in June to 2.50% in July, Seeking Alpha reported Tuesday (Aug. 18), based on the results of seven banks.

The figure remains below the pre-pandemic average of 2.68%, according to the report.

During the same period, the banks’ average net charge-off rate declined from 3.42% in June to 3.28% in July, the report said.

The seven banks’ total credit card lending slipped 0.2% from June to July, and totaled $538.4 billion in July, per the report.

Seeking Alpha’s July Credit Pulse is based on the delinquency and charge-off rates of American Express, Bank of America, Bread Financial, Capital One, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Synchrony, according to the report.

The Federal Reserve’s July 2026 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, which was flagged in the report, said that standards tightened for credit card loans during the second quarter and that demand for credit card loans remained basically unchanged.

Visa reported July 28 that U.S. payment volumes had moderated somewhat by July 21 after reaching a rate the company had not seen since fiscal 2019 outside the post-pandemic recovery. Visa Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said during that day’s earnings call that the earlier surge had been driven by a combination of tax refunds, fuel prices, retail promotions, Visa Direct and FIFA-related spending.

PYMNTS reported July 21 that Synchrony’s second quarter results showed that people were still using their cards, contrary to the prevailing narrative that the consumer was ready to pull back due to inflation, higher gas prices and a steady sense of uncertainty.

Synchrony’s results showed that purchase volume had increased 8% year over year, from $46.1 billion to $49.8 billion.

“There’s this perception given gas prices and inflation that the consumer is going to bend or come under a lot of duress,” Brian Wenzel, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Synchrony, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in an interview posted July 21. “Sales accelerated, even though gas prices are up, inflation was up, but [consumers] continue to spend,” and they continue to spend in discretionary categories, he said.