There has been a lot in the news lately about cuts to home loan rates … but the sad fact is that credit card interest rates are as high as ever – not great news for those of us who contribute to the (almost) $35 billion of credit card debt that’s currently accruing interest.

Average credit card interest rates have, in fact, increased since the pre-GFC days. Consider this:

• In November 2007 the official cash rate was 6.50% and the average credit card interest rate was 14.51%.
• In April 2015 the official cash rate was 2.25% and the average credit card interest rate was 17.01%.

In other word, the margin between the official cash rate and the average credit card interest rate has increased over the past (almost) eight years, to a whopping 14.76%. Ouch!

So how much credit card interest are we potentially, collectively, paying each year? Well, based on the $32.8 billion that we pay interest on and the minimum, maximum and average credit card interest rates on CANSTAR’s database…

• $32.8 billion at the average rate of credit card interest would be $5.57 billion in interest charges per year, or around $15.2 million per day.
• $32.8 billion at the maximum rate of credit card interest would be $7.70 billion in interest charges per year, or around $21.1 million per day.
• $32.8 billion at the minimum rate of credit card interest would be $2.94 billion in interest charges per year, or “just” $8.07 million per day. What a bargain!

So how much are YOU paying? If you continually juggle a debt, check your credit card interest rate ASAP. If it’s in double figures, ask yourself whether you should be looking for a better deal. Check out CANSTAR’s Credit Card Star Ratings report for more information, or compare credit cards here.