Consumers Are Still Using Credit Cards Despite A Rough Economy

We all know the economy has seen better days over the recent years. And with a poor economy, it only makes sense that consumers would choose to use credit cards less, in order to avoid accumulating a debt they wouldn’t be able to pay off.

However, when it comes to credit cards, what may seem like something obvious actually isn’t.

An article on The Wall Street Journal recently discussed how analysts expect upcoming earnings from major credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard to show that consumers are still using credit cards for a healthy amount of their purchases.

Healthy growth is extremely important for large credit card companies because while credit card use has increased since the recession, loans haven’t grown since many consumers paid their bills off each month instead of keeping a balance. Lenders saw a loss then in the money they charge for interest.

But what does all of this have to do with you and your small business?

To put it bluntly, if you’ve been waiting to get a service merchant account, your missing out on a chance to make some real profit. Consumers are only going to continue to use their credit cards, and while a decrease in loans may end up affecting the credit card companies, the increase in credit card spending could essentially add to your profits.

In fact, in order for loans to increase, don’t be surprised to see credit card companies try to encourage consumers to use their plastic even more.

If credit card usage is increasing, don’t you want to make sure your small business is ready for it?