U.S. Credit Card Market Share - Facts & Statistics [2024 Data Study] (2024)

When you think of popular credit card networks, Visa and Mastercard probably come to mind first. But are there other major companies that dominate the credit card market? What are the most popular credit card issuers? Are Americans choosing general-purpose cards that can be used at a variety of retailers or gravitating towards retail cards that can only be used at specific stores?

There’s an 82% chance you have at least 1 credit card, per the Federal Reserve, and according to Experian, the average American has 3.9 credit cards. This means that you have a lot of options when it comes to which types of cards you open, how many you have, and how much you decide to spend on each card. Read on to find out which types of cards are the most popular.

1. The big 4 credit networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover) reached a purchase volume of $10.168 trillion in 2023. This was a growth of 6.4% from 2022.
2. Americans are carrying a total balance of $1.12 trillion across their credit cards in the first quarter of 2024.¹
3. Visa currently has as many as 4.31 billion payment cards in circulation.²
4. Mastercard has 2.94 billion cards circulating as of 2023.²
5. The total value of the U.S. credit card market reached $461 billion in 2023.³

Major Credit Card Networks in the U.S.

A credit card network sets the terms for credit card transactions, authorizes them, and processes them. The credit card market in the U.S. has primarily 4 major players: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. These differ primarily in terms of global acceptance and perks, but also by market share.

Hot Tip:

Still confused about the difference between credit card networks and issuers? Don’t worry — we have a guide for you! Check out our list of major credit card companies and card networks, including history, most popular cards, and more.

Networks by Purchase Volume

Visa has been the foremost card network for purchase volume and transaction value for some time. That trend continued throughout 2023, with the company seeing more than twice as much spent on their cards than the nearest rival, Mastercard. The full figures showed:

• Visa — $6.445 trillion
• Mastercard — $2.727 trillion
• American Express — $1.107 trillion
• Discover — $0.220 trillion

Source: Emarketer

This could all change with the news that Capital One is planning to acquire Discover in a deal believed to be worth $35.3 billion. The combined pulling power of these 2 financial giants could see them rival Visa and Mastercard in the coming years.

Networks by Percent of Purchase Volume

Visa is the clear frontrunner in terms of purchase volume in 2022. The same can be said over the past 5 years as well — with Visa always maintaining at least 40% of the market share among the 4 major networks. Visa’s dominance did drop from around 50% in 2021 to only 41.7% in 2022 — its lowest market share in over 5 years.

Mastercard had been consistent at around 22% of the market share across the past 5 years but increased in 2022 to 27.41%. American Express’s market share is currently 10.17%. Discover, while the smallest in terms of the major networks, currently holds 7.13% of the market share over the past 5 years. There are a few other smaller networks that round out the remaining market share.

Number of Cards in Circulation

So, who holds the top spot for the number of credit cards in circulation in the U.S.?

Visa comes in at the top, at 57.5% of all cards in circulation globally in 2022. People appear to be gradually moving towards Mastercard as its share has steadily increased over the years and it currently holds 37.5% of the cards in circulation in 2022. American Express and Discover remain fairly consistent by percentage over this same time period at around 1% to 2%.

Major Credit Card Issuers in the U.S.

Credit card issuers, such as banks, retailers, or credit unions, issue credit cards to consumers. There are a lot of credit card issuers, but still only a handful with the largest piece of the market. Thus, we’ve limited our data to the top 15.

We’ve included both general-purpose and store card issuers. For example, issuers such as Synchrony Financial, Citi Retail Services, and Alliance Data Systems all issue store cards for businesses such as Old Navy, Sam’s Club, and more.

Issuers by Percent of Outstanding Balances

Outstanding balance showshow much much of your credit limit you have available — and the card issuer sets credit limits. This data factors in both people who pay off their balance on their cards each month as well as people who are carrying a balance on their cards.

What does an outstanding balance include?

• Purchases
• Cash advances
• Balance transfers
• Interest charges
• Other fees

Chase was the largest issuer in terms of outstanding balances in 2021 at $154.30 billion. Citibank, Bank of America, Capital One, and U.S. Bank round out the top 5. There are a lot more than 15 card issuers, but when you combine the outstanding balances from the remaining issuers, it all adds up to less than any of the top 5 issuers.

Major Issuers by Purchase Volume

Chase also led the way when it came to the total spend on credit cards across the first half of 2023. This purchase volume was more than double all rivals, with the exception of American Express:

• Chase — $602.1 billion
• American Express — $547.6 billion
• Citi — $287.2 billion
• Capital One — $272.6 billion
• Bank of America — $244.2 billion
• Discover — $105.8 billion
• U.S. Bank — $98.8 billion
• Wells Fargo — $90.6 billion

Source: The Nilson Report

American Express’ figures are made more impressive by the fact that it runs its own processing network. This means it isn’t as susceptible to merchant fees other issuers face from Visa or Mastercard.

Final Thoughts

There are clear frontrunners when it comes to credit card market share, both with issuers and network providers. Visa maintains a strong grip over the latter — although with Capital One’s acquisition of Discover, it will be interesting to see how this could shift in the coming years.

In the case of issuers, Chase remains some way clear of its nearest rivals. However, American Express is most likely to generate the greatest revenue. The lack of merchant fees on its cards, as well as a higher processing fee than networks like Visa and Mastercard, means it’s likely generating significantly higher profits than other issuers.