Pbs iconPbsAug 11, 2026

Credit card debt surges in U.S. as high interest rates make it harder to pay off

Meanwhile, higher interest rates make debt even more difficult to pay off, a downward spiral causing credit card delinquencies to surge.

Credit card debt surges in U.S. as high interest rates make it harder to pay off

Share this story

Send the public story page.

Useful takeaways from this story.

Meanwhile, higher interest rates make debt even more difficult to pay off, a downward spiral causing credit card delinquencies to surge.

Building the complete brief

The page is ready to read now. The fuller skim-friendly version will appear here automatically.

The useful part

Meanwhile, higher interest rates make debt even more difficult to pay off, a downward spiral causing credit card delinquencies to surge. Economics correspondent Paul Solman explains.

Details worth keeping

Economics correspondent Paul Solman explains.

Keep reading in the app

Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.

Open in app