Although credit card owners are using their cards as parts of digital wallets and monitoring their spending on apps, bank branches remain crucial for card opening. In fact, 56% of 18-34 year-olds went to a bank branch to apply for their credit card, showing a strong inclination toward in-person applications among young cardholders.
Coming off multiple years of accelerating prices, consumers were largely able to navigate the environment without overworking their credit cards. However, consumers in tighter financial situations face higher levels of debt and the threat of delinquency, stimulating innovation from issuers toward starter cards and lower rates.
One potential threat to the growth of the credit card industry comes from debit cards’ status as a trusted payment option early in consumer lives. Existing satisfaction with debit cards and cash has prevented many young non-credit card owners from anticipating owning a credit card in the future. This creates an opportunity for issuers to be more explicit in marketing the long-term benefits of good credit, a unique aspect of card ownership that rival payment options cannot compete with.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Credit card ownership and number of cards used
- Channels used in credit card acquisition
- Timing of most recent credit card acquisition
- Motivating factors that drove credit card acquisition
- Reasons to not own a credit card
- Desired areas of improvement from credit card issuers
- Attitudes toward credit cards
Rewards stand out as the primary driver of credit card acquisition, but also the area cardholders would like to obtain more information about.
Patrick Rahlfs, Principal Analyst – Financial Services
Market Definitions
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
This Report examines consumer attitudes and behaviors concerning credit cards, including credit card ownership rates, acquisition behaviours, and motivations behind signing up for a new credit card.
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Executive summary
- What you need to know
- Rewards stimulate credit card acquisition
- Graph 1: credit card acquisition motivation, 2024
- In-person consultations remain crucial for card sign-ups
- Graph 2: credit card application channels, 2024
- Debt is top concern for cardholders and non-cardholders alike
- Graph 3: reasons to not own a credit card, 2024
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
- Increase education on the benefits of good credit
- New Canadians show strong card usage behaviours
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Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- Card ownership and usage
- Two-thirds of consumers own an unsecured credit card
- Graph 4: credit card ownership, 2024
- Young consumers often start with secured cards
- Graph 5: credit card ownership, by age, 2024
- Just 41% of new Canadians own an unsecured card
- Graph 6: credit card ownership, by new Canadians, 2024
- Card ownership is highly linked to household income
- Graph 7: credit card ownership, by household income, 2024
- More than half of cardholders use multiple cards
- Graph 8: number of credit cards used in last three months, 2024
- Multi-card ownership is common even among younger segments
- Graph 9: number of credit cards used in last three months, by age, 2024
- Application channels
- In-person sign-ups outpace digital applications
- Graph 10: credit card application channels, 2024
- Young cardholders prefer in-person consultations
- Graph 11: credit card application channels, by age, 2024
- South Asian consumers often use phone calls and branches to apply
- Graph 12: credit card application channels, by race, 2024
- Financially healthy consumers lean toward in-person applications
- Graph 13: credit card application channels, by financial situation, 2024
- Timing of most recent credit card
- One in four credit card owners opened their card in the past year
- Graph 14: timing of most recent credit card acquisition, 2024
- More than half of 18-24 year old cardholders signed up in the past year
- Graph 15: credit card acquired in the last year, by age, 2024
- New Canadians are a prime target market
- Credit card acquisition motivation
- Rewards are credit cards’ most appealing feature
- Graph 16: credit card acquisition motivations, 2024
- Recent sign-ups have been motivated by short-term value boosts
- Graph 17: credit card acquisition motivations, by timing of acquisition, 2024
- Credit building reigns supreme among young cardholders
- Graph 18: credit card acquisition motivations, by age, 2024
- Struggling consumers rely on cards to facilitate purchases
- Graph 19: credit card acquisition motivations, by financial situation, 2024
- Reasons to not own a credit card
- Debt concerns prevent many from opening a credit card
- Graph 20: reasons to not own a credit card, 2024
- Increasing consideration among young non-cardholders is an opportunity
- Graph 21: plans to open a credit card in the future, by age, 2024
- Just 10% of new Canadians cite qualification as a barrier
- Graph 22: reasons to not own a credit card, by new Canadians, 2024
- Financially struggling consumers often need to build creditworthiness
- Graph 23: [no title]
- Desired areas of improvement
- Desire for rewards advice matches sign-up motivation
- Graph 24: desired improvements from credit card companies, 2024
- Young cardholders want to learn about their personal finances
- Graph 25: desired improvements from credit card companies, by age, 2024
- South Asian consumers see customer support as an area for improvement
- Graph 26: desired improvements from credit card companies, by race, 2024
- Financially struggling consumers seek assistance with pricing details
- Graph 27: desired improvements from credit card companies, by financial situation, 2024
- Attitudes toward credit cards
- Credit card usage grows, facilitating rewards
- Chinese Canadians are particularly enthusiastic card users
- Graph 28: attitudes toward credit cards, by race, 2024
- Young cardholders seek to build credit, but are most at risk of debt
- Graph 29: attitudes toward credit card usage, by age, 2024
- Struggling cardholders are being forced to rack up more debt than they’d like
- Graph 30: credit card usage and debt behaviours, by financial situation, 2024
- Financial situation causes distinct card-owning priorities
- Graph 31: motivations toward credit card usage, by financial situation, 2024
- Cards are primarily physical, but increasingly digital
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Competitive strategies
- Launch activity and innovation
- BMO launched a card with financial literacy focus
- TD brought low rates into the name of its new card
- Marketing and advertising
- Crypto.com re-introduced cards with travel focus
- American Express prompts authorized users
- Opportunities
- Premium cards have an opportunity among young consumers
- Educational features can be promoted further
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The Market
- Market drivers
- Credit card debt continues its upward trajectory
- Graph 32: household credit card liabilities, 2020-24
- Higher prices and interest rates are moderating
- Graph 33: inflation impact in the past two months, by time period, 2023-24
- Consumers are charging purchases rather than cutting back
- Graph 34: inflation behaviors, by time period, 2023-24
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Appendix
- Market definition
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
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