"The new data from Bankrate shows that in addition to 19.04% being the highest APR in the past three decades for credit cards, it also represents a record increase for a single calendar year…"
Source: t.co/x0C5xltuyN
— Gold Telegraph ⚡ (@GoldTelegraph_) November 10, 2022
via fortune:
The average credit card annual percentage rate (APR) has reached its highest level since 1991, according to new data from Bankrate. APRs are now at a record 19.04%, beating the 19% peak of more than 30 years ago.
The increases are being driven largely by the Federal Reserve’s continued hikes to the Federal funds rate and will not only impact the amount of interest consumers pay on their debt, but will likely extend the length of time it takes to repay those bills.
Record APR increases in just one year
APR is the interest consumers pay when they carry a balance on credit cards beyond a single billing cycle. The new data from Bankrate shows that in addition to 19.04% being the highest APR in the past three decades for credit cards, it also represents a record increase for a single calendar year.
“We started this year at 16.30%, so the national average has increased by 274 basis points so far in 2022,” Ted Rossman, Bankrate’s industry analyst, said in an email statement. “Previously, the largest increase within a single year was 262 basis points in 2010, when the CARD Act took effect and led to huge changes in how credit card rates were set.”