Credit card statistics in Australia at a glance
- Total credit card debt in Australia: $41.06 billion
- Total number of credit card accounts: 12.13 million
- Average balance per credit card account: $3,385
- Average monthly credit card repayment: $3,078
- Average credit card balance being charged interest: $1,631
- Average value of a credit card transaction: $117.84
- Average number of monthly credit card transaction per account: 26.1
- Average credit card interest rate on outstanding balances: 18.71%
- Average annual credit card fee: $135
Figures are based on RBA data and Money analysis from January 2025.
How much credit card debt is there in Australia?
Total credit card debt in Australia currently stands at around $41.06 billion, based on the total balance of all cards, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. This is down considerably from the peak of more than $52 billion in 2018, but has been rising steadily in the last couple of years.
However, of the overall balance, interest is being charged on less than half (48% or $19.79 billion). This means the majority of credit card spending in Australia is repaid within the card's interest-free period.
How many credit cards do Australians have?
- There are 12.13 million credit card accounts open in Australia. However, there are around 16.71 million actual cards on issue, meaning for around a third of accounts there is more than one cardholder, on average.
- Based on Australia's adult population, there are around 0.60 credit card accounts per person, or 1.21 per household.
Fun fact: If every one of the 16.71 million credit cards in Australia were laid out end-to-end, they would stretch to around 1,420km. That's just a touch longer than the distance between Sydney and Adelaide by road.
As the trend chart below shows, the number of credit card accounts (including charge cards) has fallen by around 27.5% since 2017 when it was at its peak.
The reason for this drop is the higher levels of mortgage borrowing we've seen since then, according to credit card expert, Brad Kelly. Borrowers are dropping credit cards to free up their borrowing capacity.
"Because of the way the consumer lending works, your credit card impacts the amount you can borrow with a mortgage," Kelly explained.
"The bank will say, if you get rid of that $10,000 credit card limit, we can give you another $100,000 on your mortgage. That can be the difference between getting a house and not. So people cancel the extra cards they don't need and reduce the limits on the ones they do."
What's the average credit card debt in Australia?
- The average credit card debt in Australia is $3,385 per account based on monthly balance. However, for balances being charged interest, the average is much lower at $1,631 per account.
- The average credit limit is $10,452, meaning the typical credit cardholder spends well within their limit. In fact, the gap between the average credit card limit and the average monthly balance has grown over time.
Average credit card debt levels have also come down from their peaks, but they have stayed relatively stable compared to the number of credit card accounts.
As we've seen already, there are far fewer cards in circulation and they are also carrying less debt overall. However, that is not to say that overall credit card usage in Australia has fallen. The opposite is true in fact.
How much do Australians use their credit cards?
Credit card usage in Australia has never been higher. Following a relatively brief lull during the COVID-19 pandemic, spending has surged to around $37.3 billion in the month of January 2025. That's around 29% higher than it was pre pandemic.
Transaction volumes have also increased significantly. In fact, they have more than doubled in the last 10 years – from around 10 monthly transactions per credit card on average in 2013, to around 26.1 monthly transactions today.
This has caused the average transaction value to drop too, from around $140 in 2013, to the current level of around $117 for an average transaction.
The average transaction value has been rising again since mid-2021, broadly in line with price inflation in Australia.
