Americans frequently reached for their credit cards to complete transactions during the pandemic era, but they’ve begun pulling back on that practice, according The Wall Street Journal.
Debit card spending has outpaced credit card speding for the first time in four years, the WSJ reports.
This shift in consumer behavior may force credit card issuers to change strategy for revenue growth, customer acquisition, and retention.
The WSJ cited spending data from Mastercard and Visa that showed debit card spending in the U.S. went up 6.57% in the first half of this year from the same period last year, while credit card spending only rose by 5.65%.
The good news for credit card issuers is that spending is still increasing. But after 14 consecutive quarters in which credit card spending outpaced debit card spending, issuers may be feeling nervous about which payment instrument cardholders will reach for more often throughout the rest of 2025 and beyond.
Issuers may be particularly concerned when they look at spending activity by generation. The oldest members of Generation Z are now approaching 30.