Credit card debt increases by $50B to new record high

Credit card debt in the United States increased by $50 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to recent findings from the New York Federal Reserve.

The latest report, released Tuesday, found the total credit card balances stood at $1.13 trillion by the end of December, which is about a 4.6 percent increase from the third quarter of 2023. This appears to be the highest credit card balance since at least 2003, according to the state’s Federal Reserve data.

The Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit also found the total household debt increased by $212 billion in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to $17.5 trillion.