Discover exactly how the average Australian uses their credit card with our comprehensive guide to credit card statistics
There are 16,580,989 credit cards in Australia as of February 2018, netting a national debt accruing interest of $33 billion. For many Australians, managing credit and debt through credit cards is a common element of their day-to-day money habits, while for others a few bad mistakes have resulted in a downward debt spiral. But what does the state of Australia's credit card debt actually look like?
Australian credit and debit card statistics
Comparing how we use credit cards and debit cards
According to the finder.com.au June 2016 survey, 70.19% of Australian adults own a credit card.
Demographics
How many Australians own credit cards by age group?
How has the way Australians use credit cards changed in the last 10 years?
The table below depicts the average monthly figure in each case, and the number of accounts active at the end of each year.
| Year | Accounts | Purchases | Purchases Value | Balances Accruing Interest | Total Balances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6,917,635 | 18,572,376 | $1,716,478,250 | - | $5,902,531,500 |
| 1996 | 7,447,624 | 21,327,211 | $2,006,558,167 | - | $6,970,112,000 |
| 1997 | 7,867,703 | 25,544,859 | $2,480,210,750 | - | $7,933,909,917 |
| 1998 | 8,347,354 | 33,230,275 | $3,289,235,796 | - | $9,301,922,198 |
| 1999 | 8,842,914 | 43,775,831 | $4,427,400,750 | - | $11,188,984,583 |
| 2000 | 9,462,590 | 54,160,188 | $5,704,497,083 | - | $13,825,125,833 |
| 2001 | 9,702,724 | 63,262,374 | $6,926,303,489 | - | $16,562,522,490 |
| 2002 | 10,436,320 | 78,980,602 | $9,722,033,157 | $6,522,901,923 | $21,632,476,879 |
| 2003 | 10,939,188 | 85,944,716 | $10,870,024,403 | $17,459,831,412 | $24,460,963,830 |
| 2004 | 11,564,683 | 94,031,940 | $12,235,065,131 | $19,584,814,661 | $27,691,093,053 |
| 2005 | 12,472,753 | 99,171,723 | $13,172,441,716 | $22,417,391,623 | $31,464,241,650 |
| 2006 | 13,219,635 | 106,077,623 | $14,488,224,374 | $26,205,709,409 | $36,343,226,964 |
| 2007 | 13,915,372 | 112,699,505 | $16,020,173,355 | $29,260,322,734 | $40,602,096,354 |
| 2008 | 14,223,670 | 118,291,550 | $17,271,752,680 | $31,459,592,322 | $43,674,616,532 |
| 2009 | 14,427,859 | 123,397,918 | $17,860,701,479 | $32,591,404,701 | $44,934,444,304 |
| 2010 | 14,807,113 | 131,079,776 | $19,030,143,061 | $34,814,324,464 | $47,666,028,188 |
| 2011 | 14,998,347 | 138,540,312 | $19,959,970,338 | $36,180,712,025 | $49,155,184,501 |
| 2012 | 15,206,686 | 147,966,067 | $20,897,695,673 | $36,235,249,589 | $49,765,586,487 |
| 2013 | 15,538,988 | 159,731,196 | $21,873,628,623 | $34,500,802,152 | $49,546,355,130 |
| 2014 | 15,746,333 | 172,690,658 | $23,151,764,523 | $33,352,878,864 | $50,101,907,023 |
| 2015 | 16,410,978 | 188,496,223 | $24,333,715,319 | $32,445,810,064 | $50,992,893,578 |
| 2016 | 16,686,308 | 207,153,818 | $25,232,641,843 | $32,458,164,966 | $51,764,294,059 |
Data source: finder.com.au, RBA.
Can you advise what % of total Australian credit cards and the related purchase value is transacted with a MasterCard please and what % is spent on holidays and travel?
Hi Graham,
Thanks for your question.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the information you are looking for. What we do have is the overall number of purchases using all types of Australian credit cards and debit cards as shown above this page.
Kind regards,
Rench
Hi,
Great website!
How many credit card transactions are done per year with no credit card present, ie. over the Internet, phone etc, people just entering in the numbers digitally?
Thanks!
Roland
Hi Roland,
Thanks for your question.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the information you are looking for. What we do have is the overall (with and without card) average usage of each cardholder which is 13 per month and 159 per year.
Cheers,
Anndy
The staff reply to Roland about the number of transactions per cardholder gives a figure of an average of 159 credit card transactions per year. That appears to correspond to the year 2016. And I think it only covers purchase transactions, excluding payment transactions. Where by payment transaction I mean the cardholder paying off some or all money owed on the card.
What I notice is that back in 1995, twenty years ago, cardholders only appear to have been using credit cards about an average of 30 times per year, and by 2016 that figure of 30 has grown to 159.
159 – 30 = 129. 129 is about 2½ purchases per week that are now charged through credit cards, but were not charged through credit cards twenty years ago.
Over the same twenty year period, the number of cards on issue has grown from about 50% of the Australian adult population to about 100% of the Australian adult population (but with some having more than one card and others no credit card). Meanwhile bank profitabilities have generally quadrupled.
Thanks. I think this corroborates the conception that wealth was being concentrated in fewer hands over the course of the twenty years.
Hi there,
I was wondering- do you have an stats for how many Australians are now choosing to pay by card? (debit, eftpos, credit, etc)
Hi Sam,
Thank you for your question.
I’m afraid we do not have that information available. You may try checking with Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
Cheers,
May
Hi, I was wondering how many new credit cards are approved each month? Or perhaps the average churn rate pa on Credit Cards.
Hi Luke,
Thanks for your inquiry.
I’m afraid we do not have that information available, but you may try checking with Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
May
How many consumer credit card applications are made a year?
Hi Hamish, thanks for your inquiry!
Please note that finder.com.au is a comparison service, it may be best to check with official statistical agencies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics for this inquiry.
Cheers,
Jonathan
How much does the average australian spend, a month, on debit card transactions.
I have found the statistics for credit card but not for debit card transactions.
Thank you
Hi Greg, thanks for your inquiry!
Unfortunately the household debt report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does not include the average amount for debit card transactions. It would be best to contact the ABS directly for more information/statistics on this measure.
Cheers,
Jonathan
How many 18-25 year-old Australians have a credit card?
Hi Lee. Sorry, these statistics are not available to us. Try the Reserve Bank of Australia. They publish credit card and charge card statistics.
Jacob.