EPC Releases Q3 Data Dashboard Illustrating Inflation’s Impact on Credit and Debit Markets

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) released its 2022 Q3 Data Dashboard, showcasing key trends within the credit and debit markets, including interchange and merchant discount rates, BNPL, electronic payments, and consumer tendencies.

This quarter’s dashboard highlights inflation’s effect on consumer choices and interchange rates. Young consumers increasingly rely on “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) services to combat higher prices, leading to financial difficulties. For instance, 75 percent of millennials report overspending when using the service, compared to 52 percent of baby boomers. Despite the rise of BNPL usage, credit cards remain the first choice for consumers on all retail and restaurant purchases.

In addition, smaller financial institutions continue to suffer from capped debit interchange rates. Debit interchange price caps fail to account for inflation and have cost more than $120 billion in lost revenue. Meanwhile, credit card interchange and merchant discount rates have remained stable at 1.6 percent and between 2.17 percent and 2.26 percent, respectively.

“The data shows us that imposing credit routing mandates during a time of massive inflation would severely harm all participants in the payments industry including small businesses, small financial institutions, and consumers,” said Jeff Tassey, Chairman of the Board of EPC. “This latest data dashboard is a reminder of the importance of protecting and encouraging investments in payment systems to keep up with consumers’ changing preferences and needs.”

To view EPC’s Q3 Data Dashboard, click HERE.

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The Electronic Payments Coalition represents the credit unions, community banks, payment card networks, and institutions who support the backbone of our economic system: electronic payments.