2016 Australian Household Credit Card Debt Statistics

Australian Credit Card and Debit Card Statistics 2016

Discover exactly how the average Australian uses their credit card with our comprehensive guide of credit card statistics

There are over 16 million credit cards in Australia, netting a national debt accruing interest of around $32.5 billion. For many Australians, managing credit and debt through credit cards is a common element of their day-to-day money habits, while for others a few bad mistakes have lead to a downward debt spiral. But what does the state of Australia’s credit card debt actually look like?

Comparing how we use credit cards and debit cards

percentage of australians with a credit card

How many Australians have credit cards?

According to the finder.com.au June 2016 survey, 70.19% of Australian adults own a credit card.

There are 16,539,369 credit cards in Australia;
There are 42,920,563 debit cards in Australia

How many credit cards does each Australian have on average?

2.18 per person calculated using data from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) as of June 2015.

There are 2.8% more credit cards in circulation year-on-year.

How do Australians use credit cards?

The Average credit limit per credit card: $9,070.78
How many transactions do we make each month? An average of 13 per month, 159 per year.
The average cardholder uses 34.7201% of their credit limit.

The average cardholder uses 34.7201% of their credit limit.

50.40% of Australians use their credit to pay households bills

How do Australians handle credit card debt?

How do Australians use credit cards?

Average Australian credit card balance last month: $3,072
Average monthly repayments: $1,716
Average balance collecting interest: $1,950
Australia owes $52,221,456,175 credit card debt as a whole

How much credit card debt does Australia owe as a whole?

How has the way Australians use credit cards changed in the last 10 years?

Year
Accounts
Purchases
Purchases Value
Balances Accruing Interest
Total Balances
1995
6,746,697
18,572,376
$1,504,775,333
$5,902,531,500
N/A
1996
7,171,681
21,327,211
$1,716,478,250
$6,970,112,000
N/A
1997
7,661,050
25,544,859
$2,006,558,167
$7,933,909,917
N/A
1998
8,107,751
33,230,275
$2,480,210,750
$9,301,922,198
N/A
1999
8,561,463
43,775,831
$3,289,235,796
$11,188,984,583
N/A
2000
9,186,426
54,160,188
$4,427,400,750
$13,825,125,833
N/A
2001
9,599,600
63,262,374
$5,704,497,083
$16,562,522,490
N/A
2002
10,282,275
78,980,602
$6,926,303,489
$15,654,964,615
$21,632,476,879
2003
10,575,967
85,944,716
$9,722,033,157
$17,459,831,412
$24,460,963,830
2004
11,252,849
94,031,940
$10,870,024,403
$19,584,814,661
$27,691,093,053
2005
12,024,453
99,171,723
$12,235,065,131
$22,417,391,623
$31,464,241,650
2006
12,936,118
106,077,623
$13,172,441,716
$26,205,709,409
$36,343,226,964
2007
13,587,881
112,699,505
$14,488,224,374
$29,260,322,734
$40,602,096,354
2008
14,009,657
118,291,550
$16,020,173,355
$31,459,592,322
$43,674,616,532
2009
14,325,362
123,397,918
$17,271,752,680
$32,591,404,701
$44,934,444,304
2010
14,642,249
131,079,776
$17,860,701,479
$34,814,324,464
$47,666,028,188
2011
14,892,280
138,540,312
$19,030,143,061
$36,180,712,025
$49,155,184,501
2012
15,076,723
147,966,067
$19,959,970,338
$36,235,249,589
$49,765,586,487
2013
15,381,723
159,731,196
$20,897,695,673
$34,500,802,152
$49,546,355,130
2014
15,580,233
172,684,963
$21,873,628,623
$33,352,878,864
$50,101,907,023
2015
16,080,937
188,522,014
$24,425,285,429
$32,144,245,289
$50,992,916,919

For more statistics and research please contact:

Graham Cooke