Delinquent payments on credit cards continue downward trend

Written on May 26, 2010 – 2:27 pm | by Alicia Ross

Staying on time for credit card payments was easier for some consumers during the first quarter.

Following trends seen throughout the economic downturn, consumers continued to concentrate on remaining current on their credit card debt, according to figures released recently from TransUnion.

According to the company, which specializes in providing financial information, the number of card accounts in the country that were more than 90 days late on payment fell 8.3 percent from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of 2010. In all, 1.11 percent of credit card accounts in the nation were behind on being paid.

The total amount of debt accounted for by credit cards also dropped during the first quarter, falling from $5,434 to $5,165. The first three months of this year marked the fourth straight quarter that saw average credit card debt decline among Americans.

“The last four quarters of consecutive decreases in credit card balances shows that consumers continue to focus on paying down their credit cards in response to economic uncertainty and the continued somewhat anemic employment outlook, wanting to keep a credit cushion available for hard times,” said Ezra Becker, TransUnion director of consulting and strategy.

Given recent numbers from the government, consumers may continue to try and pay off their credit cards, as unemployment saw its first monthly increase since last year. April saw the jobless rate inch up to 9.9 percent after being at 9.7 percent during the first three months of the year.

According to the Federal Reserve Board, the total amount of credit card debt carried by consumers in the country dropped 6.2 percent during the first quarter. This follows a pattern seen for many months that has shown the amount of revolving debt decline.

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