Card Briefs: Survey: Nearly 10% Barely Pay Card Bills

Nearly one-10th of U.S. households with credit cards are having trouble paying their monthly bills, according to the research firm PSI Global.

In a survey of 2,248 households, those reporting difficulties said they often put off other payments to meet minimum credit card payments, had borrowed money to make card payments, or had been contacted by collection agents after being late.

"Fortunately, only about 1% of cardholders actually default on their credit card bills, which means that the risk for credit card issuers in general is still fairly low," said Tina Armour, research director for PSI.

She said it is hard for card issuers to identify risky cardholders in advance because problems occur in all age groups, income categories, and education levels.

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