Credit Card Delinquency
Who is falling behind on credit cards, how fast, and what lenders are doing about it. The credit files count every card lender; the bank figures show what reaches bank earnings.
| Measure | Latest | 2019 | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance 90+ days late | 12.92% | 8.32% | Over 10% aboveNear record |
| Newly 90+ days late, annualized | 6.97% | 5.17% | Over 10% above |
| Newly 30+ days late, annualized | 8.69% | 6.82% | Over 10% above |
| Bank card loans 30+ days late | 2.85% | 2.58% | Over 10% above |
| Bank card loans charged off, annualized | 3.82% | 3.71% | Up to 10% above |
Counted: latest more than 10% over a positive 2019 average. Up to 10% above and at or below 2019 are shown, not counted; a series whose 2019 average is zero or negative has no base. Near record: at least 90% of the series high. Counted, never scored. Descriptions, not forecasts.
Latest reading
In Q2 2026, 12.92% of credit card balances were 90 or more days late in credit files, against a 2019 average of 8.32% and a record of 13.74% in Q2 2010. Over the four quarters to Q2 2026, 6.97% of balances newly became seriously late, against 6.93% a year earlier. At banks, 2.85% of credit card loans were 30 or more days late in Q2 2026 and 3.82% were charged off at an annual rate. Balances stood at $1.26T, +4.5% on a year and +1.7% on the quarter.
Sources, methodology & freshnessNew York Fed Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (Equifax credit files); Federal Reserve bank delinquency, charge-off, G.19 and SLOOS series via FRED · Quarterly; the Q2 2026 report was published 42 days after the quarter ended. Release dates before the latest report are estimated as quarter end + 40 days; the latest quarter uses the report monthData as of Q2 2026, released August 11, 2026 · Open ↓Close ↑
Late payments in credit files
Balances 90+ days late: 12.92% in Q2 2026, +0.65 pts on a year, the 94th percentile of 94 readings since 2003. Newly 30+ days late over the year: 8.69% in Q2 2026, +0.11 pts on a year, the 63rd percentile of 94 readings since 2003. A card balance 90 days late is close to a loss: banks charge off card debt at 180 days late. The flow measures count balances that newly crossed each line during the year, annualized, so they show the pace of new trouble, while the share of balances 90+ days late also holds old debts still on file.
Over the four quarters to Q2 2026, 526 thousand consumers had a new bankruptcy on their credit report, against 814 thousand in 2019 and 2.11 million at the post-2005 peak, the four quarters to Q4 2010. The count covers bankruptcies on any debt, not only cards. The spike in late 2005 was a rush to file before the bankruptcy law tightened on October 17, 2005.
Who is falling behind, by age
In Q2 2026, the highest rate was ages 18–29 at 10.08% and the lowest ages 60–69 at 4.98%. Each line is the share of that age group’s card balances that newly became 90+ days late over the last four quarters. Younger borrowers carry smaller balances on thinner credit files, so compare each group with its own past.
On bank books
Bank credit card loans 30+ days late: 2.85% in Q2 2026, −0.19 pts on a year, the 32nd percentile of 142 readings since 1991. Charge-offs: 3.82% in Q2 2026, −0.37 pts on a year, the 49th percentile of 166 readings since 1985. Banks report loans 30+ days late, seasonally adjusted, on cards they hold. They charge off a balance at 180 days, so the bank delinquency rate stays far below the credit-file share of balances 90+ days late, which keeps a written-off balance on file until it is paid or removed.
How much is owed
Balance outstanding: $1.26T in Q2 2026, +4.5% on a year, the 99th percentile of 94 readings since 2003. Open accounts: 653.6M, +2.8% on a year. Utilization: 22.72% in Q2 2026, −0.38 pts on a year, the 23rd percentile of 94 readings since 2003. Utilization is the balance divided by the total credit limit in the credit files. It rises when balances grow faster than limits, either because households borrow more or because lenders stop raising lines.
The price and supply of credit
Card interest rate, accounts assessed interest: 22.36% in Q3 2026, −0.47 pts on a year, the 95th percentile of 128 readings since 1994. Banks tightening standards, net: 4.0% in Q4 2026. The card rate is the average on accounts that were charged interest, from the Federal Reserve’s G.19 release. The lending-standards line is the net share of banks tightening card standards in the senior loan officer survey; above zero, more banks are tightening than easing.
How the numbers are built
Borrower side. The New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit reads a random five percent sample of Equifax credit files, so it covers every lender: banks, credit unions, finance companies and the federal government. Its delinquency shares are of balances, not of borrowers. Each reading covers a quarter and is plotted on the quarter's last day; the New York Fed publishes it weeks later (the Q2 2026 report on August 11, 2026), so the charts show when each period ended, not when it became known.
Lender side. Where the Federal Reserve publishes a bank series for this loan type, it is charted beside the credit files and never combined with them. Banks count loans 30+ days late on their own books, seasonally adjusted.
Source note. The New York Fed traces the divergence between this share and the newly-late flows to charged-off card debts that lenders now keep reporting to the credit bureaus for longer: by 2024 about 80% of charged-off balances were still on credit reports a year later, against 40% in 2004–2012. With charged-off debts left out, its measures have been roughly stable since early 2024. The newly-late flows and bank charge-offs in the answer card are the better guide to new trouble. New York Fed, Liberty Street Economics, August 11, 2026.
The answer card counts delinquency measures above their 2019 average and near their record by the rule printed under it, the same rule as the Delinquency Tracker. No forward study ships with this page: the series are quarterly and hold three recessions, too few to test one.
Download the series: credit-cards.json.
| Measure | Latest | 2019 | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance 90+ days late | 12.92% | 8.32% | Over 10% aboveNear record |
| Newly 90+ days late, annualized | 6.97% | 5.17% | Over 10% above |
| Newly 30+ days late, annualized | 8.69% | 6.82% | Over 10% above |
| Bank card loans 30+ days late | 2.85% | 2.58% | Over 10% above |
| Bank card loans charged off, annualized | 3.82% | 3.71% | Up to 10% above |
Counted: latest more than 10% over a positive 2019 average. Up to 10% above and at or below 2019 are shown, not counted; a series whose 2019 average is zero or negative has no base. Near record: at least 90% of the series high. Counted, never scored. Descriptions, not forecasts.
How Credit Card Delinquency Works
- 1Start with the answer cardEach row is one measure at its latest quarter, against its 2019 average and its own record, with the printed rule that marks it above 2019 or near its record. The rows are counted, never blended into a score.
- 2Read the borrower sideThe New York Fed reads a five percent sample of Equifax credit files every quarter, so it sees every lender. Its headline is the share of balances 90 or more days late, and its flow measures show how much newly fell behind during the year.
- 3Compare the lender sideWhere the Federal Reserve publishes bank figures, they sit beside the credit-file series rather than inside them: banks count loans 30 or more days late on their own books and lend mostly to prime borrowers.