CARPINTERIA, Calif.–Credit card receivables generated by cards issued in the U.S. topped $1 trillion at year-end 2016, according to The Nilson Report.
Those outstandings were tied to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards as well as to private-label cards issued for use only at select retail, gasoline, medical, airline, and car-rental locations, the company said.
"Every credit card purchase of goods or services immediately triggers outstanding debt," said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report. "Every purchase is technically a loan. However, it is important to remember that more than one-third of all outstanding credit card debt at the end of each month will be paid in full before the buyer incurs any finance charges."
Of the total $1 trillion in credit card outstandings at year-end 2016, 86% was generated by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards. This includes receivables tied to commercial card products that are provided by corporations to their employees. The other 14% was divided among multiple private-label credit card providers, the Nilson Report said.
“In comparison, at year-end 2016 student loan debt totaled $1.407 trillion," Robertson said. "Of the $1 trillion in card debt identified by The Nilson Report, only $650 billion was subject to finance charges, while the full $1.407 trillion in student loan debt was subject to finance charges."
The Nilson Report reminded that when comparing debt, credit card debt is spread out over a much wider pool of Americans than student debt. There were 157 million Americans with outstanding debt on one or more credit cards at year-end 2016, but just 44 million with student loan debt. Nearly four times as many Americans have card debt than student loan debt, the Nilson report noted.