FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: March 2024
28 Mai 2024 - 10:10AM
Business Wire
Consumer spend drops to its lowest level for a
year and missed payments increase
The FICO UK Credit Card Market Report for March 2024 suggests a
fairly stable picture of consumer credit usage, with many trends
following the usual annual patterns. However, spend dropped to its
lowest level since March 2023, perhaps reflecting the influence of
poor weather conditions on consumer activity. Missed payments also
continue to be erratic, requiring lenders to remain vigilant.
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Having risen slightly in February,
average UK credit card spend fell by 2.8% month-on-month to £765 in
March 2024, the lowest point since March 2023. Source: FICO.
Highlights
- Average UK credit card spending fell month-on-month to £765,
the lowest level for 12 months
- Average credit card balances fell slightly on the previous
month but remain 7.2% higher than 2023 at £1,760
- The number of accounts with one missed payment rose more than
15% compared to February 2024, but is slightly lower than March
2023
- More accounts missed two and three payments than in March
2023
- Average credit limits increased on the previous month as well
as the previous year
Key Trend Indicators – UK Cards March 2024
Metric
Amount
Month-on-Month Change
Year-on-Year Change
Average UK Credit Card Spend
£765
-2.8%
+3.8%
Average Card Balance
£1,760
-0.5%
+7.2%
Percentage of Payments to Balance
36.4%
-0.2%
-4.2%
Accounts with One Missed Payment
1.7%
+15.3%
-0.9%
Accounts with Two Missed Payments
0.3%
+3.9%
+5.5%
Accounts with Three Missed Payments
0.2%
-1.1%
+8%
Average Credit Limit
£5,655
+0.2%
+1.9%
Average Overlimit Spend
£90
+4.7%
-6.3%
Cash Sales as a % of Total Sales
0.9%
-0.2%
+0.1%
Source: FICO
FICO Comment
Having risen slightly in February, average spend fell by 2.8%
month-on-month to £765 in March 2024, the lowest point since March
2023. With inflation remaining high, spending was naturally higher
in March 2024 than the same month last year. However, with spending
at its lowest point for 12 months, there’s a clear picture of a
depressed consumer market with the poor weather and continuing
inflationary pressures taking their toll on retail spending.
Whilst spending has been depressed, average credit card balances
have risen 7.2% year-on-year to £1,760. Credit card providers
should also be aware that the percentage of payments to balance is
continuing its general downward trend, having fallen again – by
0.2% on the previous month and 4.2% year-on-year. With salaries not
keeping pace with higher costs, and savings no longer able to fill
the gap, this trend is likely to continue for some time.
Continuing an erratic trend, the percentage of customers missing
one payment rose by 15.3% from February to March, having fallen by
10.9% from January to February. This up and down pattern has been
seen for the last couple of years and although 0.9% down
year-on-year, has been trending steadily upwards since April
2022.
The upward trend of missed payments is more noticeable for
customers missing two payments, a percentage which has increased
3.9% on the previous month and 5.5% on the previous year. Customers
missing three payments is 8% higher than this time last year,
albeit 1.1% lower month-on-month.
Looking at the outstanding balances on those accounts with
missed payments, there has been a month-on-month decrease for those
missing one and two payments. However, for all customers missing
one, two or three payments, there has been a year-on-year
increase.
The other measure of financial stress is the percentage of
customers using credit cards to take out cash. The percentage of
accounts using their cash limit fell by 2% since the previous
month. Despite this reduction, cash sales remain slightly higher
than the same time last year and are likely to increase during the
summer months.
These card performance figures are part of the data shared with
subscribers of the FICO® Benchmark Reporting Service. The data
sample comes from client reports generated by the FICO® TRIAD®
Customer Manager solution in use by some 80% of UK card
issuers. For more information on these trends, contact FICO.
About FICO
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businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company
is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to
improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and
foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability,
customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial
services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and
many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more
than 100 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment
cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing
supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US
lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US
and other countries, improving risk management, credit access and
transparency. Learn more at www.fico.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240527709570/en/
For further comment on the FICO UK Credit Card activity
contact: FICO UK PR Team Wendy Harrison/Parm Heer
ficoteam@harrisonsadler.com 0208 977 9132
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