Growth in credit card penetration has accelerated in the past year and grew 23 basis points year-over-year to 17.3% as of March 31.

Overall, U.S. credit unions extended just shy of 1 million new credit card loans over the past 12 months. Membership increased by 4.7 million, but credit card loans increased by a higher ratio, leading to the accelerated penetration rate.

Credit card availability and use are on the rise. So are delinquency and charge-off rates. Learm more in “Credit Card Data Shows Green Lights And Yellow.”

Unsecured credit card loans increased at a faster rate than membership, which lead to an acceleration in credit card penetration rates nationwide.

Credit card delinquency increased 15 basis points year-over-year. It was 1.09% as of March 31, 2017, and rose to 1.24% as of March 31, 2018. This is still below the 1.40% average credit card delinquency rate for FDIC-insured institutions. Moreover, credit unions report an account delinquent at 60 days past due, whereas FDIC-insured institutions use a 90-day threshold. The average net charge-off for credit cards has also risen 30 basis points since the first quarter of 2017. It stood at 2.87% as of first quarter 2018.

Although credit union credit card delinquency continues to rise, up 15 basis points year-over-year, it still remains 16 basis points below FDIC insured institutions as of March, 2018.

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