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Data hub · Credit cards · Debt Checked 2 Jun 2026

UK Credit Card Debt Statistics 2026

Outstanding UK credit card balances reached £80.3 billion in April 2026 (Bank of England), up 11.8% year on year. That does not mean every balance is problem debt: many cardholders clear their card in full each month and pay no interest. The pressure point is the part of the market where balances revolve at high interest rates while new borrowing keeps outpacing repayments.

How to read this page
  • “Outstanding balances” is the total amount owed on credit cards by UK individuals at a point in time, from the Bank of England Money and Credit release (Table C1.1), latest reading April 2026.
  • “Net borrowing” is new borrowing minus repayments in a month. A positive figure means the total owed grew that month.
  • This page covers consumer credit card debt. Business card balances are reported separately and are not included here.
By Business Expert research team · Last checked 2 Jun 2026 · How we check the data →
Data period: 2026 – 2026-04·Last reviewed: 2 Jun 2026·Quarterly updates·Sources: Bank of England·⇩ Data (CSV)
1.

UK credit card debt at a glance

The total amount owed on UK credit cards, and the monthly borrowing that is still adding to it.

Lead figures Outstanding balances and the annual growth rate.
Outstanding balances
£80.3bn
▲ +11.8%year on year
Total UK consumer credit card debt stood at £80.3bn in April 2026, up 11.8% on the same month a year earlier.
Bank of England Money and CreditApr 2026
Monthly net borrowing
£0.8bn
▲ added that monthFeb 2026
Net credit card borrowing was £0.8bn in February 2026, meaning new spending outpaced repayments and the debt stock grew.
Bank of England Money and CreditFeb 2026
2.

Balances are climbing at a double-digit annual rate

An 11.8% annual rise is fast by historical standards. It reflects higher prices feeding through to card spending and households using credit cards to bridge budgets, rather than a single cause.

UK credit card balances, year on year

Total amount owed on UK consumer credit cards. April 2025 is calculated back from the published 11.8% annual growth rate; April 2026 is the observed Bank of England figure.

MonthBalances (£bn)Note
April 2025~71.8Derived from +11.8% YoY
April 202680.3Bank of England, observed
Source: Bank of England Money and Credit (Table C1.1) · April 2025 derived from the published annual growth rate · a fuller monthly series is being added Checked 2 Jun 2026

Why the total keeps rising

New borrowing minus repayments has stayed positive, so each month adds to the total owed.

At roughly £0.8bn of net borrowing a month, the total grows by close to £10bn a year before interest. How fast it falls depends on repayments, not new spending alone.

What this means

Double-digit growth with positive monthly net borrowing means UK households are still adding to card debt, not paying it down. But the total owed is only half the picture: the next section explains why a rising balance is not the same as rising financial stress. The full rate and arrears detail sits on the UK Credit Card Statistics hub.

3.

Credit card balances are not the same as credit card stress

A bigger total owed is not automatically a sign that households are in trouble. What matters is how much of that debt actually carries interest, and whether people are keeping up with repayments.

What the headline number does, and does not, tell you

The £80.3bn figure is the total amount owed at a moment in time. A large slice of it never costs anyone anything, because it is cleared in full before interest is charged. The part that matters for financial pressure is smaller and more specific:

  • Cleared in full ("transactors"). Many people use a card for convenience or rewards and pay the statement off every month. These balances show up in the total but accrue no interest.
  • Carried over ("revolvers"). The balances that revolve month to month are where cost and pressure build, because they attract interest at credit card rates.
  • Arrears and persistent debt. The clearest distress signals are missed payments (arrears) and persistent debt, where someone pays more in interest and charges than they repay of the balance over time. The FCA and lenders report these separately.
  • The price of carrying a balance. Advertised credit card rates sit near multi-decade highs, so a revolving balance is expensive to hold. The rate detail sits on the UK Credit Card Statistics hub.

The better distress gauges

Balance growth tells you the size of the market. These tell you the strain.

  • Interest-bearing share of balances
  • Arrears rate
  • Persistent-debt cases
  • Minimum-payment reliance
This page tracks the size of the debt, not default risk. A rising balance can reflect more spending, higher prices, or more borrowing, and much of it is repaid in full each month. We do not read £80.3bn as an £80bn "debt crisis": arrears and persistent-debt figures are the right place to judge household strain.
4.

What rising balances mean for businesses

Consumer card debt is a read on household budgets, which feed straight into demand. But it is a signal to interpret carefully, not a single number to act on.

How to read it

Rising credit card balances can signal pressure in household budgets, and that pressure shows up in ways a business feels: softer discretionary spending, slower repayment, more chargebacks and disputes, and stronger demand for lower-cost or pay-over-time options. But balances alone are not enough to call it. Arrears, the interest-bearing share of balances, and repayment rates give the clearer stress signal. For the wider consumer-spending backdrop, see the UK Payments Statistics hub; for card products and rates, the credit cards guides.

Annual balance growth
+11.8%
April 2026, year on year
Monthly net borrowing
£0.8bn
February 2026
5.

Sources and methodology

The headline figures on this page come from the Bank of England's monthly Money and Credit release, the authoritative source for UK consumer credit aggregates.

1 source Source register ▾
SourcePublisherPeriod coveredTypeLast checked
Money and Credit (Tables C1.1, B2.2)Bank of EnglandMonthly, to April 2026Central bank2 Jun 2026
How we check the data ▾

Central bank aggregates first

The Bank of England Money and Credit release is the authoritative source for UK consumer credit stocks and flows. We take outstanding balances and net borrowing directly from it.

Derived figures are labelled

The April 2025 comparison point is calculated from the published 11.8% annual growth rate, not separately observed, and is flagged as derived.

Consumer scope

These figures cover consumer credit card debt held by individuals. Business and commercial card balances are reported under different series and are excluded here.

Data integrity

Outstanding balances and net borrowing map directly to the Bank of England Money and Credit release. The April 2025 figure is derived from the reported annual growth rate and labelled as such. Last full review: 2 Jun 2026.

Credit card debt FAQ

Common questions about UK credit card debt

How much credit card debt is there in the UK?
UK consumers held £80.3 billion in outstanding credit card debt in April 2026 (Bank of England), up 11.8% on the year.
Is UK credit card debt rising?
Yes. Balances grew 11.8% in the year to April 2026, and net borrowing was a positive £0.8 billion in February 2026, meaning new spending outpaced repayments and the debt stock continued to grow.
Does a high credit card balance mean households are in trouble?
Not necessarily. A large share of credit card debt is repaid in full each month and never accrues interest. Arrears and persistent-debt figures, reported separately by the FCA and lenders, are a better gauge of financial strain than the headline balance.