FICO UK Credit Card Market Report April 2022

Rhea-AI Summary

FICO's April 2022 report on UK credit card trends reveals early signs of cost-of-living pressure. Average monthly spend reached £760, a 10% increase from March, while average balances rose to £1,554. Notably, there's a 22% year-on-year rise in spending. However, missed payments have seen a slight increase, indicating inflation is impacting some cardholders. The report suggests continued financial prudence among consumers as repayments to balances remain stable.

Positive

• Average UK credit card spend increased to £760 (+10% month-on-month, +22% year-on-year).
• Average credit card balance rose to £1,554 (+2.3% month-on-month, +5.3% year-on-year).
• Percentage of payments to balance remained stable at 40%, indicating continued credit management.

Negative

• A small increase in missed payments suggests inflation is impacting cardholders.
• Accounts with one missed payment showed a 3% month-over-month increase in average balance.

Early signs of cost-of-living pressures showing in credit card payments to balance, and sharp rise in spend

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FICO’s report of April 2022 UK card trends shows some early signs of the impact of the widely reported cost-of-living pressures. The monthly report based on the largest consortium of UK cards data shows a typical rise in card spend and balances, but also a slight increase in missed payments. Average monthly spend hit £760, tied with December 2021 as the highest in more than two years.

Highlights

• Average total sales at £760 – a 10 percent month on month increase, which is typical behaviour in card spend for the time of year
• Average active balance is also rising month on month – again typical for the time of year
• No change month on month in percentage of payments to balance, suggesting continued pragmatic management of credit card accounts
• But a small uplift in the average balance for accounts missing 1 payment suggests inflation is having an impact

Key Trend Indicators – UK Cards April 2022

Metric	Amount	Month-on-Month Change	Year-on-Year Change
Average UK Credit Card Spend	£760	+10%	+22%
Average Card Balance	£1,554	+2.3%	+5.3%
Percentage of Payments to Balance	40%	0.00%	+22.5%
Accounts with One Missed Payment	1.4%	-17.6%	+2.1%
Accounts with Two Missed Payments	0.3%	+0.8%	-6.9%
Accounts with Three Missed Payments	0.2%	+1.6%	-13.4%
Average Credit Limit	£5,490	+0.2%	+2.6%
Average Overlimit Spend	£120	-7.7%	-17.8%
Cash Sales / Total Sales	1.2%	-5.6%	-11.8%
Source: FICO

FICO Comment

Much of the April data suggests that credit card behaviour is following typical patterns, exhibiting typical post-Christmas spending and repayment trends. The percentage of repayments to balance is flat month on month, suggesting continued financial prudence.

The signs of the cost-of-living crisis are still limited, with the biggest area of concern being a 3 percent increase in the average 1 payment missed balance month over month for new cardholders (less than 12 months). Typically, the higher-risk accounts are more credit hungry, so lenders will want to be vigilant in monitoring this trend.

FICO believes that inflationary impacts will be worst for those already identified as in persistent debt or potentially new candidates for that designation. Populations most vulnerable to inflation include those living on fixed incomes, as well as lower-income households without savings in reserve, especially where wages are increasing more slowly than the cost of living. Lenders are encouraged to perform segmentation analysis on their portfolios, to ensure that their web and mobile applications encourage consumers in distress to make contact at the first indications of difficulty, and to consider establishing special payment plans for those in inflation’s grip.

These card performance figures are part of the data shared with subscribers of the FICO® Benchmark Reporting Service produced by FICO^® Advisors, the business consulting arm of FICO. The data sample comes from client reports generated by the FICO^® TRIAD^® Customer Manager solution in use by some 80 percent of UK card issuers.

About FICO

FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and 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, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 120 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time.

Learn more at https://www.fico.com

FICO and TRIAD are registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220623005040/en/

For further comment on the FICO UK Credit Card activity contact:

FICO UK PR Team

Wendy Harrison/Parm Heer/Matthew Enderby

ficoteam@harrisonsadler.com

0208 977 9132

Source: FICO

FAQ

What does FICO's April 2022 report reveal about UK credit card spending?

FICO's report indicates average UK credit card spending reached £760, marking a 10% increase from March 2022.

How has inflation affected UK credit card payments according to FICO?

FICO noted a slight increase in missed payments, suggesting inflation is starting to impact some consumers.

What are the trends in average credit card balances reported by FICO?

The average credit card balance rose to £1,554, reflecting a 2.3% month-on-month increase.

What is the percentage of payments to balance in April 2022 according to FICO?

The percentage of payments to balance remained stable at 40% in April 2022.

What year-on-year changes did FICO observe in UK card spending?

Year-on-year, UK card spending increased by 22% according to FICO's April 2022 report.