{"id":975058,"date":"2026-06-24T04:06:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T08:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T04:06:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T08:06:58","slug":"fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <!--.bwalignc { text-align: center; list-style-position: inside }\n.bwalignl { text-align: left }\n.bwblockalignl { margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto }\n.bwcellpmargin { margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px }\n.bwleftsingle { border-left: solid black 1pt }\n.bwlistdisc { list-style-type: disc }\n.bwpadb3 { padding-bottom: 4px }\n.bwpadl0 { padding-left: 0px }\n.bwpadl2 { padding-left: 10px }\n.bwpadr0 { padding-right: 0px }\n.bwrightsingle { border-right: solid black 1pt }\n.bwsinglebottom { border-bottom: solid black 1pt }\n.bwtablemarginb { margin-bottom: 10px }\n.bwtopsingle { border-top: solid black 1pt }\n.bwuline { text-decoration: underline }\n.bwvertalignb { vertical-align: bottom }\n.bwvertalignt { vertical-align: top }\n.bwwidth100 { width: 100% }\n.bwwidth20 { width: 20% }\n.bwwidth40 { width: 40% }body {font:normal small Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#000;background-color:#fff;padding:24px;margin:0;} a img {border:0;} h3 {font-size:medium;color:#000;margin:0 0 1em 0; text-align:center;}-->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"bwalignc\"><b>FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"bwalignc\"><i>Balances return to record high as spend increases and repayments fall, suggesting inflation and energy prices are hitting hard<\/i><\/p>\n<p>LONDON&#8211;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.businesswire.com\">BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)&#8211;<br \/>\nNew credit card data analysis by global analytics software leader <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fico.com%2Fen&amp;esheet=54558910&amp;newsitemid=20260624361500&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FICO&amp;index=1&amp;md5=95db6171237e007d5467a5cd393cdb8a\">FICO<\/a> (NYSE: FICO) has found that spending rose in April, following typical Easter behaviour. However, we are seeing a strong trend downwards with the percentage of balance being paid, and this is driving up overall balances. The percentage of balance paid fell for the third month in a row and late payments increased year-on-year, balances returned to record high levels. This marks a notable shift from the improvements seen in 2025 for the percentage of customers missing payments. In April, there was the biggest increase in consumers missing three payments. Household budgets are clearly showing the strain from persistent inflation and the current fallout from volatile global energy prices.<\/p>\n<p><b>Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"bwlistdisc\">\n<li>\nSpending rose 10% month-on-month, reaching an average of \u00a3815<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\nAverage active balances increased 1.3% month-on-month to \u00a31,950, matching the record high reached in December 2025<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\nThe percentage of overall balance paid decreased 1.4% month-on-month to 32.6%, continuing the downward trend that has persisted since 2025 and approaching the pre-pandemic average of 30%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\nThe percentage of customers missing two payments rose 1.9% month-on-month and 16.3% year-on-year<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\nThe percentage of customers missing three payments also increased month-on-month by 6.2% and 17.3% year-on-year \u2013 the most significant annual deterioration seen across any delinquency category<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\nBalances on accounts with missed payments were higher across all delinquency categories than the same month last year<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\nOverlimit accounts increased sharply, by 14.1% month-on-month and 4.6% year-on-year<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><span class=\"bwuline\">FICO Comment:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>\nApril 2026 presents a mixed but broadly concerning picture for lenders. With consumer spending rising, but repayments falling, more customers have fallen into arrears and gone over their credit limit.<\/p>\n<p>\nThe monthly growth in spending does not go far enough to rise above 2025 levels, suggesting that any improvements are likely to be seasonal rather than a sign of stronger financial health. And with average balances now matching the record high from December 2025, it is clear that consumers are carrying more debt in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\nDespite the slight month-on-month improvement in the number of accounts with one missed payment after a spike in March, the figure remains 4.9% higher year on year. And those customers who are missing payments for the first time are doing so with a higher level of debt than a year ago, with average balance for accounts with one missed payment rising by 6.7% year-on-year to \u00a32,480.<\/p>\n<p>\nThe picture for late payments is particularly concerning for those missing multiple payments. The percentage of accounts with two and three missed payments has grown more sharply. And average balances for two and three missed payments are 0.5% and 3.4% higher than 2025, at \u00a32,855 and \u00a33,325, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>\nThe other signal of weakened affordability is the number of overlimit accounts, which increased sharply by 14.1% month-on-month, and 4.6% year-on-year. Average overlimit spending of \u00a395 represents a 5.9% drop on March but remains 5.5% higher than the previous year.<\/p>\n<p>\nWith seasonal spending increases likely to put further pressure on already stretched affordability levels, risk managers should prioritise proactive pre-delinquency intervention strategies and enhanced early warning monitoring ahead of the summer.<\/p>\n<p><b>Key Trend Indicators \u2013 UK Cards April 2026<\/b><\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"bwtablemarginb bwblockalignl bwwidth100\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwtopsingle bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\"><b>Metric<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwtopsingle bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\"><b>Amount<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwtopsingle bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\"><b>Month-on-Month Change<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwtopsingle bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\"><b>Year-on-Year Change<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nAverage UK Credit Card Spend<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n\u00a3815<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+10.0%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n-1.3%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nAverage Card Balance<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n\u00a31,950<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+1.3%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+4.1%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nPercentage of Payments to Balance<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n32.6%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n-1.4%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n-4.1%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nAccounts with One Missed Payment<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n1.4%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n-19.5%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+4.9%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nAccounts with Two Missed Payments<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n0.4%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+1.9%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+16.3%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nAccounts with Three Missed Payments<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n0.2%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+6.2%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+17.3%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nAverage Credit Limit<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n\u00a35,960<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+0.2%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+2.0%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nAverage Overlimit Spend<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n\u00a395<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n-5.9%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+5.5%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwleftsingle bwrightsingle bwwidth40 bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nCash Sales as a % of Total Sales<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n0.8%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwvertalignt bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n+2.4%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwsinglebottom bwrightsingle bwpadr0 bwvertalignb bwpadb3 bwwidth20 bwalignl bwpadl2\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin bwalignl\">\n-0.9%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bwpadl0\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"bwcellpmargin\">\nSource: FICO<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"bwpadl0\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\" \/>\n<td class=\"bwpadl0\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\" \/>\n<td class=\"bwpadl0\" rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\" \/><\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p>\nThese card performance figures are part of the data shared with subscribers of the FICO\u00ae Benchmark Reporting Service. The data sample comes from client reports generated by the <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fico.com%2Fen%2Fproducts%2Ffico-triad-customer-manager&amp;esheet=54558910&amp;newsitemid=20260624361500&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=FICO%26%23174%3B+TRIAD%26%23174%3B+Customer+Manager&amp;index=2&amp;md5=834419e3161037a0d19b30d0cb657b20\"><b>FICO<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> TRIAD<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Customer Manager<\/b><\/a> solution in use by some 80% of UK card issuers. For more information on these trends, contact FICO.<\/p>\n<p><b>About FICO<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\nFICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO\u00ae Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency. Learn more at <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fico.com%2F&amp;esheet=54558910&amp;newsitemid=20260624361500&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=www.fico.com&amp;index=3&amp;md5=58b2c502fa293dec3983db58fd093288\">www.fico.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\nFICO and TRIAD are registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and other countries.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en\" style=\"width:0;height:0\" \/><span class=\"bwct31415\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"mmgallerylink\"><span id=\"mmgallerylink-phrase\">View source version on businesswire.com: <\/span><span id=\"mmgallerylink-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20260624361500\/en\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20260624361500\/en\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>For further press information please contact:<br \/>\n<\/i><\/b><br \/><b>FICO UK PR Team<br \/>\n<\/b><br \/>Wendy Harrison\/Matthew Enderby<br \/>\n<br \/><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"mailto:ficoteam@harrisonsadler.com\">ficoteam@harrisonsadler.com<br \/>\n<\/a><br \/>0208 977 9132<\/p>\n<p><b>KEYWORDS:<\/b> United Kingdom Europe<\/p>\n<p><b>INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:<\/b> Other Consumer Technology Payments Finance Fintech Accounting Professional Services Software Data Analytics Consumer<\/p>\n<p><b>MEDIA:<\/b><\/p>\n<table cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"3\">\n<tr>\n<td><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"><b>Logo<\/b><\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260624361500\/en\/2329913\/3\/fico-logo-coreblue-large.jpg\" alt=\"Logo\" \/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"><\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 Balances return to record high as spend increases and repayments fall, suggesting inflation and energy prices are hitting hard LONDON&#8211;(BUSINESS WIRE)&#8211; New credit card data analysis by global analytics software leader FICO (NYSE: FICO) has found that spending rose in April, following typical Easter behaviour. However, we are seeing a strong trend downwards with the percentage of balance being paid, and this is driving up overall balances. The percentage of balance paid fell for the third month in a row and late payments increased year-on-year, balances returned to record high levels. This marks a notable shift from the improvements seen in 2025 for the percentage of customers missing payments. In April, there &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-975058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 - Market Newsdesk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 - Market Newsdesk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 Balances return to record high as spend increases and repayments fall, suggesting inflation and energy prices are hitting hard LONDON&#8211;(BUSINESS WIRE)&#8211; New credit card data analysis by global analytics software leader FICO (NYSE: FICO) has found that spending rose in April, following typical Easter behaviour. However, we are seeing a strong trend downwards with the percentage of balance being paid, and this is driving up overall balances. The percentage of balance paid fell for the third month in a row and late payments increased year-on-year, balances returned to record high levels. This marks a notable shift from the improvements seen in 2025 for the percentage of customers missing payments. In April, there &hellip; Continue reading &quot;FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Market Newsdesk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T08:06:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Newsdesk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Newsdesk\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Newsdesk\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f27a394d4fda80ecb5499e519d979\"},\"headline\":\"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T08:06:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":827,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cts.businesswire.com\\\/ct\\\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 - Market Newsdesk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cts.businesswire.com\\\/ct\\\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T08:06:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f27a394d4fda80ecb5499e519d979\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cts.businesswire.com\\\/ct\\\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cts.businesswire.com\\\/ct\\\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Market Newsdesk\",\"description\":\"Latest Business News in Real Time\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f27a394d4fda80ecb5499e519d979\",\"name\":\"Newsdesk\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a0d0bd5b0f0ca12a265a459b13169dac35f33776d8501eda5e68844a366f2f46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a0d0bd5b0f0ca12a265a459b13169dac35f33776d8501eda5e68844a366f2f46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a0d0bd5b0f0ca12a265a459b13169dac35f33776d8501eda5e68844a366f2f46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Newsdesk\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/newsdesk\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 - Market Newsdesk","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 - Market Newsdesk","og_description":"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 Balances return to record high as spend increases and repayments fall, suggesting inflation and energy prices are hitting hard LONDON&#8211;(BUSINESS WIRE)&#8211; New credit card data analysis by global analytics software leader FICO (NYSE: FICO) has found that spending rose in April, following typical Easter behaviour. However, we are seeing a strong trend downwards with the percentage of balance being paid, and this is driving up overall balances. The percentage of balance paid fell for the third month in a row and late payments increased year-on-year, balances returned to record high levels. This marks a notable shift from the improvements seen in 2025 for the percentage of customers missing payments. In April, there &hellip; Continue reading \"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/","og_site_name":"Market Newsdesk","article_published_time":"2026-06-24T08:06:58+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Newsdesk","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Newsdesk","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Newsdesk","@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f27a394d4fda80ecb5499e519d979"},"headline":"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026","datePublished":"2026-06-24T08:06:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/"},"wordCount":827,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/","name":"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026 - Market Newsdesk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en","datePublished":"2026-06-24T08:06:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f27a394d4fda80ecb5499e519d979"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cts.businesswire.com\/ct\/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20260624361500r1&amp;sid=flmnd&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fico-uk-credit-card-market-report-april-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: April 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/","name":"Market Newsdesk","description":"Latest Business News in Real Time","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f27a394d4fda80ecb5499e519d979","name":"Newsdesk","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a0d0bd5b0f0ca12a265a459b13169dac35f33776d8501eda5e68844a366f2f46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a0d0bd5b0f0ca12a265a459b13169dac35f33776d8501eda5e68844a366f2f46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a0d0bd5b0f0ca12a265a459b13169dac35f33776d8501eda5e68844a366f2f46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Newsdesk"},"url":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/author\/newsdesk\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=975058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975058\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=975058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=975058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=975058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}