Credit and Debit Card Market Share by Network and Issuer

Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.

If you ask the average American which credit cards are the most common, they'll probably tell you that Visa and Mastercard dominate the market.

But to what degree is that true? Which credit card network has the highest market share? Which issuers are most popular?

We dug into the most recent data from the Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, major credit and debit card issuers, and the Nilson Report, the premier collection of financial data, to get you the answers.

Wells Fargo boasted the largest debit card market share of any issuer in 2022 by purchase, with $464 billion worth of transactions taking place on its cards.

Chase was the largest credit card issuer by market share that year, with $154.3 billion in transactions occurring on cards it issued.

Read on for information on credit and debit card market share by network, issuer, and more.

Key findings

  • 93% of American adults had a debit card in 2021, according to the Federal Reserve.
  • 82% of American adults had a credit card in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve.
  • In 2022, 60% of all cards in the United States were debit cards or prepaid debit cards, according to the Nilson Report.
  • There were more Visa credit cards in circulation than any other type of credit card in 2022.
  • Measured by outstanding balances, Chase had the largest credit card market share of any issuer in 2022: $154.3 billion, according to the Nilson Report.
  • Wells Fargo had the largest debit card market share of any issuer in 2022, when measured by purchase volume: $464 billion.

The payment card landscape

Credit, debit, and prepaid card usage in America is on the rise: purchase volume totaled $10.4 trillion in 2022, an 11% increase from 2021, according to The Nilson Report.

Credit cards accounted for $5.6 trillion (53%) while the purchase volume from debit and prepaid cards was $4.9 trillion (47%).

Credit card spending grew 19.5% from 2021 to 2022 while spending on debit and prepaid cards rose by 11%.

How many Americans have debit and credit cards?

According to the Federal Reserve:

  • 242.7 million adults in the U.S. (93%) had a debit card in 2021.
  • 214 million adults (82%) had a credit card in 2022.

How many cards do Americans have?

Not only do most adults in the U.S. hold a debit or credit card or both, but many adults hold more than one. There were 2 billion general purpose credit and debit cards in circulation in the U.S. in 2022, including prepaid debit cards, according to the Nilson Report. 827 million of those cards were credit cards and 1.2 billion were debit cards.

That's about eight cards per person, although many of those cards were prepaid cards (think of how many gift cards you receive and buy for others over a year).

The average number of credit cards per person varies by source. The Nilson Report found that Americans with a credit card account had on average 4.9 credit cards, which could be across multiple accounts. Experian estimated in 2021 that Americans on average hold three credit cards. A survey from The Motley Fool Ascent in 2023 found that most respondents have between one to three credit cards.

Debit and credit card purchase volume

The purchase volume on general purpose credit and debit cards in the United States in 2022 was $10.4 trillion, per the Nilson Report. That's up 11% from 2021. Credit cards accounted for $5.6 trillion while debit and prepaid cards accounted for $4.9 trillion.

The Federal Reserve reports that the value of card payments grew faster from 2018 to 2021 than any other previous three year period. That's a reflection of not only inflation, but more Americans turning to credit and debit cards for purchases. 157 billion purchases were made using a credit or debit card in 2021, up from 132.7 billion in 2020, per the Federal Reserve.

Americans have spent more on their credit cards than their debit cards over the past 20-plus years, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

Average credit and debit card transaction values

The average credit card transaction in 2021 was $96, while the average debit card transaction was $43, according to the Federal Reserve.

That aligns with numbers from The Nilson Report, which found that the average credit card transaction in 2022 was $99 and the average debit card transaction was $49.

Here's how the average credit card transaction value breaks down by network:

  • America Express: $150
  • Mastercard: $94
  • Visa: $91
  • Discover: $58

Credit card market share by number of cardholders

133 million Americans -- 52% of American adults -- have a Visa credit card, according to the Nilson Report.

110 million -- 43% of American adults -- have a Mastercard credit card.

Discover and American Express lag behind. 49 million Americans -- 19% of American adults -- have a Discover credit card while 44 million -- 17% of American adults -- have an American Express credit card.

Credit card market share by cards in circulation

There were 827 million general purpose credit cards in circulation in the United States at the end of 2022, up 11% from 2021. Here's how they break down by network.

  • Visa: 385 million
  • Mastercard: 309 million
  • Discover: 75 million
  • American Express: 62 million

Credit card market share by purchase volume

Visa accounted for just over half of the purchase volume on general purpose credit cards in 2022:

  • Visa credit: 52%, $2.84 trillion
  • Mastercard credit: 24%, $1.32 trillion
  • American Express credit: 20%, $1.08 trillion
  • Discover credit: 4%, $211 billion

Credit card issuer by outstanding balance

As reported by the Nilson Report, at the end of 2022, outstanding balances on general purpose credit cards in the U.S. totaled $1.071 trillion, up 14.7% from 2021. In terms of outstanding balance, Visa held the largest credit card market share:

  1. Visa: 47%, $502 billion
  2. Mastercard: 24%, $336 billion
  3. American Express: 13%, $143 billion
  4. Discover: 8%, $90 billion

Debit card market share by purchase volume

Seventy-one percent of all purchase volume on general purchase debit and prepaid cards was on Visa-branded cards in 2022, according to the Nilson Report. The remaining 29% was on Mastercard-branded cards.

These are the top 10 debit card issuers by purchase volume in 2022 and their share of purchase volume among the top 50 debit card issuers. Data includes debit and prepaid cards:

  1. Wells Fargo: $463.981 billion (16.4%)
  2. Bank of America: $459.218 billion (16.2%)
  3. JPMorgan Chase: $449.989 billion (15.9%
  4. PNC Bank: $127.962 billion (4.5%)
  5. Navy FCU: $104.301 billion (3.7%)
  6. The Bancorp Bank: $94.041 billion (3.3%)
  7. U.S. Bancorp: $88.861 billion (3.1%)
  8. Truist: $88.725 billion (3.1%)
  9. USAA: $85.974 billion (3.0%)
  10. ICBA Bancard: $71.357 billion (2.5%)

Debit card market share by number of cards

In 2022, there were 1.9 billion general purpose debit cards in the U.S., according to the Nilson Report -- many of these debit cards were prepaid debit cards.

These are the top 10 debit card issuers by card count in 2022 and their share of cards in circulation among the top 50 debit card issuers. Data includes debit and prepaid cards:

  1. The Bancorp Bank: 192.772 million (27.60%)
  2. Pathward: 145.867 million (20.89%)
  3. Bank of America: 61.163 million (8.76%)
  4. U.S. Bancorp: 49.239 million (7.05%)
  5. JPMorgan Chase: 41.437 million (5.93%)
  6. Wells Fargo: 40.015 million (5.73%)
  7. Fifth Third Bank: 18.200 million (2.61%)
  8. Comerica Bank: 17.092 million (2.45%)
  9. Navy FCU: 11.921 million (1.71%)
  10. PNC Bank: 11.602 million (1.66%)

As of 2021, 93% of American adults had a debit card, per the Federal Reserve. 106 billion payments were carried out via debit cards, including prepaid debit cards, and those transactions were worth $4.5 trillion, according to a separate report from the Federal Reserve.

Credit cards on the rise

The pace of credit card spending -- and debt -- has accelerated in recent years. Credit card purchase volume grew faster than debit card purchases in 2022 and credit card debt is at a record level.

Americans are projected to lean more on their credit cards in the future. The Nilson Report estimates that credit card purchase volume will rise to $6.3 trillion in 2026.

Used responsibly, the best credit cards carry big advantages over debit cards. The best credit cards can net spenders impactful rewards or cash back and provide other perks like fraud protection or zero foreign transaction fees.

Sources

Our Research Experts