UK credit card repayments weaken as balances grow in June: FICO

UK credit card holders reduced the share of balances they paid off in June, while spending and outstanding balances moved higher, according to June 2026 figures compiled by FICO.

Over the same period, the average active balance increased 1.4% to £1,975 ($2,693), the highest level in the series and 4.7% above June 2025.

Repayment performance declined during the month.

The proportion of balances repaid fell 2.4% month-on-month to 33.3%, leaving it 4.4% lower than a year earlier.

The data shows average card spend rose 5.6% from the previous month to £835 ($1138).

Missed-payment rates also increased across all three delinquency bands tracked in the data.

The share of customers missing one payment was 7.7% higher than a year earlier, while the average balance on those accounts rose 4.1%.

For customers behind by two payments, volumes increased 5.5% from May and 9.1% year-on-year. The average balance in this group was 2.2% higher than a year earlier.

Among accounts with three missed payments, the number of customers was up 14.3% compared with June 2025, and the average balance was 1.9% higher.

Average credit limits rose 0.2% on the month to £5,985 and were 2% above the level recorded a year earlier.

FICO said: "June 2026 continued to present a mixed picture for consumer affordability. An increase in spending could, potentially, be seen as a good sign of economic confidence, however, the increase in spending was not matched by the percentage of overall balance paid, which fell on the previous month and year, reversing the previous recovery and continuing its persistent downwards trend. And with an increase in late payments across one, two and three months, a record-high average active balance will be of concern to risk teams.

"June credit card data indicates that underlying affordability pressures remain significant. Risk teams should maintain heightened monitoring of delinquency progression through the cycle buckets and ensure pre-delinquency intervention strategies remain calibrated to address the elevated balance levels now characteristic of customers in financial difficulty."

"UK credit card repayments weaken as balances grow in June: FICO" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.