Global consumer perception on credit cards
Credits cards offer a convenient way to make transactions with 37% of global consumers saying they own more than one credit card. Consumers from North America (47%) are more likely to say this in comparison to the UAE (43%), APAC (38%), and Europe consumers (31%). While one in five people globally are in credit card debt, nearly two-thirds of them say they always pay their bills on time before accruing interest. This sentiment is consistent across all markets with only 13% globally contradicting the statement ‘I always pay my credit card bills on time before the interest starts to kick in’.
When it comes to how consumers put their credit cards to use, two in five globally say they use their credit cards for daily purchases (42%) while a third say they use it only for emergencies (31%). More than a quarter of global consumers either predominantly use credit cards to spread the cost of high value items (29%) or to build up their credit rating (28%). However, consumer opinion varies across markets.
Two in five Europeans use their credit card for day-to-day transactions, but the same proportion don’t (40% agree while 40% disagree). A quarter use them only for emergencies (26%) while a fifth use plastic to spread the cost of high value items (21%). Consumers from Europe are least likely to use credit cards only for emergencies (16%) in comparison to the rest of the international markets (45-30%).
North Americans are more likely to use their credit card to build up their credit rating in comparison to APAC (32%) and European consumers (16%). More than two in five use their credit card to pay for daily purchases (44%) but a third use it only for emergencies (30%) and slightly more (34%) use their cards to spread the cost of high value items (34%).
56% of consumers in the UAE say they use their credit as a way of paying for daily transactions. Nearly half use it for spread the cost of high value items (47%) while two in five use it only for emergencies or to strengthen their credit rating (45% each).
Many credit card companies offer loyalty programs and two in five consumers globally say it's one of the things they value. Europeans are least likely to share this sentiment with a third disagreeing with the statement ‘my credit card’s cash back/ reward/ loyalty program is one of the things I value about it’ - the highest across all markets (34%).
When asked if consumers have been a victim of credit card fraud, one in five either ‘strongly agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’. North Americans (30%) and UAE consumers (29%) are more likely to have been a victim of credit card fraud in comparison to European (16%) or APAC consumers (19%).
Despite 20% of consumers globally saying they have been victims of credit card fraud, nearly half say it's safer than carrying cash (47%). In North America (52%) and the UAE (61%) more than half say credit cards are safer than carrying cash while in Europe (43%) and APAC two in five share this sentiment (46%).
Explore our living data – for free
Discover more banking and insurance content here
Want to run your own research? Start building a survey now
Get quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences using YouGov RealTime Omnibus
Make smarter business decisions with better intelligence. Understand exactly what your audience is thinking by leveraging our panel of 20 million+ members. Speak with us today.
Methodology
YouGov RealTime Omnibus provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 513 and 2008 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in August 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov RealTime Omnibus.