Credit Card Debt
More people turning to debit over credit
Monday, August 31, 2009
Brafton
At least that's been the observation of Chris Versace, who recently wrote a column for the Washington Times. Putting away their credit cards is a habit that bucks the trend of recent years, where more Americans may have put items on a charge card.
"Perhaps that is the point - people are cutting back not only on when they spend but how they spend," Versace said.
There are a number of recent reports that support Versace's observation. According to recent numbers from the Federal Reserve, the amount of revolving credit dropped 6.8 percent to $917 billion during the month of June. Much of revolving credit can be accounted for in credit card debt.
Furthermore, a study from the Nilson Report shows that debit cards accounted for 58.2 percent of card transactions during 2008. That number is expected to increase to 60.7 percent by 2011.
