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Credit card use on the rise among young adults, study finds

December 9, 2016

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of U.S. consumers now own general purpose network-branded credit cards, up from 61 percent in 2015, according to "U.S. Consumers and Credit: Young Adults Return to Credit Card Use," the latest entry in the biennial ConsumerMonitor Survey Series from Mercator Advisory Group.

What's more, despite being among the heaviest users of cash, young adults are more likely to use general purpose credit cards than the average of cardholders overall (65 percent vs. 63 percent). Use among this group is up from 58 percent in 2015 and 47 percent in 2014.

Mercator also found that a high percentage of consumers have shopped for a new credit card within the past 12 months. The method consumers found most valuable for researching new credit cards was a visit to the branch of their primary financial institution.

Other aspects of credit card use examined in the study include:

• demographic distribution of credit card use in the United States;
• changing patterns of use relative to other payment types;
• notice of and reaction to merchant steering practices;
• consumer experience of changing fees;
• methods used to shop for new credit cards;
• application channels used; and
• consumer interest in mobile-based account controls.

One of 36 exhibits in the 83-page report:

The report presents findings from the CustomerMonitor Survey Series online poll of 3,009 U.S. adults surveyed in June.