Financial pressures remain evident as spending falls and average balances increase
The usual seasonal spending increase in April was evident in the latest data from global analytics software leader FICO, following a post-Christmas dip. However, spend was slightly lower year-on-year, reflecting continued financial pressures. The proportion of balance paid has also been trending downwards so far in 2025, and in April was 6.2% lower year-on-year. Combined with the impact of inflation, this meant balances were 4.9% higher than April 2024.
Highlights
- Spending rose in April by 11.8% month-on-month, to £825 but was 0.5% down year-on-year
- Average balances rose by 1.5% on the previous month and 4.9% on the previous year, to £1,875
- Customers missing one credit card payment fell 22.1% month-on-month
- The average balance of accounts missing one payment is £2,325, 4.9% higher than April 2024
- The average balance for accounts with two and three missed payments was also significantly higher year-on-year, at 6% and 6.3% respectively
- The percentage of customers using credit cards to take out cash increased by 2.8% month-on-month after seven consecutive decreases, standing at 2.9% in April
FICO Comment
The picture for April reflects the continued pressure on household finances as overall credit card balances track higher year-on-year and average delinquent balances do the same.
April typically sees an increase in spend after the post-Christmas fall and this year was no exception, increasing by 11.8% month-on-month to £825. However, despite a drop in spending, balances increased by 1.5% month-on-month to an average of £1,875 – a 4.9% increase on the previous year. This measure continues to trend upwards.
Another signal of financial pressure is the percentage of balance paid, which has been decreasing since January 2025. Now standing at 33.98% it is 6.2% lower than April 2024 and 0.9% lower than March 2025. If this continues, it may reach pre-pandemic levels of around 30%.
After the 23.1% month-on-month increase in March, the percentage of customers missing one payment has dropped by 22.1% in April, to 1.29%. This is also 14% lower year-on-year. Encouragingly, the large increase in the number of customers missing one payment in March has not carried through to customers missing two payments in April. At 0.3%, this is only a 0.2% increase month-on-month and is 6.6% lower year-on-year, indicating good collections practices. Just 0.2% of customers missed three payments, which is 3.3% lower month-on-month and 5.8% lower year-on-year.
However, the average balance for accounts with one missed payment increased slightly by 0.2% to an average of £2,325 in April, which is 4.9% higher year-on-year. Balances for accounts with two and three missed payments dropped month-on-month but remain higher than the previous year. The average two-cycle balance dropped 1.3% month-on-month and rose 6% year-on-year to £2,840. The average three-cycle balance dropped slightly by 0.2% to an average of £3,215, which is a 6.3% increase year-on-year.
Also following seasonal trends, the percentage of customers using credit cards to take out cash increased by 2.8% month-on-month after seven consecutive decreases. This now stands at 2.99% in April 2025. This measure is heavily influenced by seasonality and is likely to increase over the Spring and Summer months, peaking in September.
In light of the latest FICO data, lenders will want to continue to review collections strategies, ensuring customers with higher balances at risk are prioritised and receive flexible and tailored treatment. They may also want to focus on those customers using their cards for cash withdrawals, as this can often be an early sign of financial stress.
These card performance figures are part of the data shared with subscribers of the FICO® Benchmark Reporting Service. The data sample comes from client reports generated by the FICO® TRIAD® Customer Manager solution in use by some 80% of UK card issuers. For more information on these trends, contact FICO.