UK statistics
UK Credit Card Debt 2026: Total Outstanding, Growth + Interest Rate
Outstanding credit card lending to UK individuals was £83.3 billion in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted), per Bank of England Money and Credit statistics published on 29 September 2026. The annual growth rate of credit card borrowing rose to 13.3%, and the effective interest rate on interest-charging credit cards was 21.55%. 71% of StepChange debt-advice clients had credit card debt in January 2026.
Headline numbers
- UK credit card lending outstanding
- £83.3bn August 2026, BoE series LPMVZRJ
- Annual growth in credit card borrowing
- 13.3% August 2026, up from 12.6% in July
- Effective rate, interest-charging cards
- 21.55% August 2026, Bank of England
The detail
Total sterling net credit card lending to individuals stood at £83.3 billion in August 2026, per Bank of England series LPMVZRJ (seasonally adjusted) - up from £76.0 billion a year earlier. It passed £80 billion in May 2026, the first time in a series that starts in 1993. Net borrowing through credit cards was £1.2 billion in August, up from £0.9 billion in July.
The Bank of England reports the annual growth rate of credit card borrowing at 13.3% in August 2026, faster than the 9.6% for all consumer credit and the 7.9% for other forms such as car finance and personal loans.
Card debt is also expensive. The effective interest rate on interest-charging credit cards was 21.55% in August 2026, against 9.96% on new personal loans. StepChange January 2026 client data showed 71% of its debt-advice clients had credit card debt. Under the FCA's persistent debt rules (CONC 6.7), card firms must contact a customer whose payments over the preceding 18 months comprised less in principal than in interest, fees and charges.
Sources
- Bank of England - Money and Credit, August 2026 (retrieved 2026-09-30)
- Bank of England database - Credit card lending to individuals outstanding, SA (LPMVZRJ) (retrieved 2026-09-30)
- FCA Handbook - CONC 6.7 (persistent debt, CONC 6.7.27R) (retrieved 2026-09-30)
- StepChange - Personal debt statistics monthly client report Jan 2026 (debt-advice client mix) (retrieved 2026-06-24)
- House of Commons Library - Household debt: statistics and impact on economy (retrieved 2026-06-24)
- Our methodology & full source list →
Related statistics
- Average UK savings
The FCA Financial Lives 2024 survey (published 16 May 2025, still the latest wave) found that 90% of UK adults had some cash savings, and that the median amount among those savers was £5,000 to £5,999. 29% of adults had no investible assets or less than £1,000, while 43% had £10,000 or more.
- UK Bank Rate
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 6-3 to maintain Bank Rate at 3.75% at its meeting ending 16 September 2026, with three members voting for a 0.25 percentage point rise to 4%. The vote repeated July's 6-3 split. CPI inflation rose to 3.1% in August and the MPC expects it to rise further over coming quarters as higher energy prices pass through. The next decision is due on 5 November 2026.
- UK household saving ratio
The UK household saving ratio - the share of disposable income that households save rather than spend - was 8.8% in Q2 2026 (April to June), per the ONS Quarterly National Accounts published on 30 September 2026. That is up from 8.6% in Q1 2026 but below the 10.2% of Q1 2025, and still above the 2015-19 pre-pandemic average of 6.6%.