Federal Reserve payments study supplement points to accelerated credit card use

Federal Reserve Board press release --------- Growth in the number of credit card payments rose sharply from 2015 to 2016--eclipsing growth for other card types, according to new payments data collected by the Federal Reserve. A notable increase was also seen last year in the number of card payments made remotely versus in person. The number of credit card payments grew 10.2 percent in 2016 to 37.3 billion with a total value of $3.27 trillion. The increase in the number of payments compares with an 8.1 percent annual rate from 2012 to 2015 and was boosted by continued strong growth in the number of payments made remotely. Remote general-purpose credit card payments, including online shopping and bill pay, rose at a rate of 16.6 percent in 2016. More broadly, remote payments in 2016 represented 22.2 percent of all general-purpose credit and prepaid debit card payments, up 1.5 percentage points from an estimated 20.7 percent in 2015. By value, remote payments represented 44.0 percent of all general-purpose card payments, a slight increase from an estimated 42.9 percent in 2015. To get more in depth information click on the picture below to read the release.