We recently reported on a Federal Reserve study showing that Americans had seemingly been cutting back on credit card use, despite liking the convenience of plastic itself, whether in debit or prepaid form.
And now comes a report from the TransUnion credit rating agency saying “Americans are carrying more credit card debt than a year ago,” while late payments remain at an 18 year low. The report surmises that cardholders are trying to reduce personal debt (and perhaps hold on to what credit ratings they have) by prioritizing card payments – somewhat counterintuitively? — over house payments and other obligations.
Both of which would seem to indicate consumers are trying to handle what debt they have — but do they really want to take on more?
You can offer your customers other convenient payment options besides credit. We’ve noted the uptick in prepaid card use, but don’t forget e-checks and becoming “M-commerce” ready – with customers willing to use their digital wallets, tapped into cash accounts — as well.
Your AVPS representative can help you expand your array of payment acceptance options, so you can meet your customers wherever they are on the cash-and-credit continuum. Even in times when they’re scaling back on debt, they’re not scaling back on convenience!
