The Era of Uncertainty: Credit Cards

How Issuers Can Recession-Proof Their Business

Report by David Morris, and Jaime Toplin  | Jul 18, 2022
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Table of Contents
Recession Threatens to Rain on Card Issuers’ Parade
Short-Term Changes
Long-Term Changes
What It All Means for Issuers
Read Next
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Life is good for credit card issuers, but worsening economic conditions could endanger their $160 billion revenue stream. They must act decisively to ensure they’re still meeting consumers’ changing needs.
Topics
Payments
Banking
US
Table of Contents
Recession Threatens to Rain on Card Issuers’ Parade
Short-Term Changes
Long-Term Changes
What It All Means for Issuers
Read Next
Sources
Media Gallery

In the face of recession warning signs, credit card issuers must be ready to shift their strategies to protect a payments industry cash cow. This means planning for consumer weakness in unexpected places; facing down buy now, pay later (BNPL) threats; and making tough program-specific decisions.

Key Question: What are the short- and long-term challenges for general-purpose credit cards, and what do they mean for issuers?

US Digital* vs. In-Store Credit Card Spending, 2019-2023 (billions)
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KEY STAT: We expect US credit card spending to reach nearly $2.837 trillion in 2022, delivering more than $160 billion in revenues to issuers—which a recession would put in jeopardy.

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Table of Contents

  1. Recession Threatens to Rain on Card Issuers’ Parade
  2. Short-Term Changes
  3. Long-Term Changes
  1. What It All Means for Issuers
  2. Read Next
  3. Sources
  1. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

US Digital* vs. In-Store Credit Card Spending, 2019-2023 (billions)Biggest Source of Financial Stress for US Adults, March 2022 (% of respondents)
Reasons US Adults Applied for a New Credit Card During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Feb 2022 (% of respondents)

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authors

David Morris, and Jaime Toplin

Contributors

Daniel Decea
Researcher, Financial Services