The credit card market is highly competitive, ever-evolving, and top-heavy. As such, the hierarchy of companies in this space is very revealing. Issuer market share, and changes therein, indicate trends in financial brand recognition, consumer preference, and competitive dynamics. Such statistics also provide useful context to investors as they approach the banking sector.
Below you will find historical market share information for general-consumer credit cards, store credit cards, and business credit, expressed in terms of both purchase volume and outstanding balances.
Total Credit Card Market
Market Share of Issuers based on Outstanding Balances
(Source: Nilson Report, 2022)
Credit Card Issuers in the U.S. based on Outstanding Balances
| Rank (2021) | Bank | 2021 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) | 2020 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) | 2019 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) | 2018 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) | 2016 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) | 2015 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) | 2014 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) | 2009 Outstanding Balances in Billions (% Market Share) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase | $154.30 (22.59%) | $141.66 (16.57%) | $157.58 (16.55%) | $145.26 (16.10%) | $141.82 (14.17%) | $130.24 (14.17%) | $129.57 (14.86%) | $165.87 (18.70%) |
| 2 | Citi | $106.01 (15.52%) | $101.04 (11.82%) | $111.77 (11.74%) | $106.29 (11.70%) | $94.50 (9.44%) | $81.83 (8.90%) | $82.30 (9.44%) | $102.54 (11.56%) |
| 3 | Capital One | $98.03 (14.35%) | $89.94 (10.52%) | $96.71 (10.16%) | $94.32 (10.40%) | $90.43 (9.04%) | $82.03 (8.92%) | $72.66 (8.33%) | $55.46 (6.25%) |
| 4 | Bank of America | $92.57 (13.55%) | $94.31 (11.03%) | $106.56 (11.19%) | $106.58 (11.80%) | $101.56 (10.15%) | $99.76 (10.85%) | $100.24 (11.49%) | $145.10 (16.36%) |
| 5 | U.S. Bank | $39.86 (5.84%) | $38.05 (4.45%) | $40.57 (4.26%) | $37.32 (4.10%) | $37.16 (3.71%) | $34.09 (3.71%) | $32.88 (3.77%) | $20.17 (2.27%) |
| 6 | Wells Fargo | $33.40 (4.89%) | $35.01 (4.10%) | $41.53 (4.36%) | $40.70 (4.50%) | $38.83 (3.88%) | $35.41 (3.85%) | $35.21 (4.04%) | $30.89 (3.48%) |
| 7 | Barclays | $22.12 (3.24%) | $22.01 (2.58%) | $26.17 (2.75%) | $24.78 (2.70%) | $26.35 (2.63%) | $23.04 (2.51%) | $20.78 (2.38%) | $10.67 (1.20%) |
| 8 | Synchrony | $21.40 (3.13%) | $18.95 (2.22%) | $20.60 (2.16%) | $19.41 (2.10%) | $20.46 (2.04%) | $17.04 (1.85%) | $15.15 (1.74%) | N/A (N/A) |
| 9 | Navy FCU | $20.10 (2.94%) | $19.20 (2.25%) | $18.06 (1.90%) | $15.67 (1.70%) | $12.49 (1.25%) | $10.76 (1.17%) | $09.51 (1.09%) | N/A (N/A) |
| 10 | USAA | $12.90 (1.89%) | $16.40 (1.92%) | $18.72 (1.97%) | $18.66 (2.10%) | $18.93 (1.89%) | $18.47 (2.01%) | $17.78 (2.04%) | $12.96 (1.46%) |
| 11 | Goldman Sachs | $8.21 (1.2%) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) |
| 12 | PNC Bank | $8.03 (1.18%) | $8.10 (0.95%) | $8.28 (0.87%) | N/A (N/A) | $6.39 (0.64%) | $5.95 (0.65%) | $5.56 (0.64%) | $5.08 (0.57%) |
| 13 | Credit One Bank | $7.64 (1.12%) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) | N/A (N/A) |
| 14 | TD Bank | $6.74 (0.99%) | $6.45 (0.75%) | $6.80 (0.71%) | N/A (N/A) | $5.95 (0.59%) | $5.87 (0.64%) | $4.73 (0.54%) | N/A (N/A) |
| 15 | First National | $6.52 (0.95%) | $5.73 (0.67%) | $6.25 (0.66%) | N/A (N/A) | $5.92 (0.59%) | $5.77 (0.63%) | $5.29 (0.61%) | $4.32 (0.49%) |
(Source: Nilson Report, February 2022)
Top 8 U.S. Credit Card Issuers Based on Purchase Volume (In Billions)
(Source: Nilson Report, February 2022)
Credit Cards Issuers in the U.S. based on Purchase Volume
| Rank | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2013 | 2011 | 2009 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase | Chase | American Express | American Express | American Express | American Express | American Express | American Express | American Express | American Express | American Express |
| 2 | American Express | American Express | Chase | Chase | Chase | Chase | Chase | Chase | Chase | Chase | Chase |
| 3 | Citi | Citi | Citi | Citi | Citi | Citi | Bank of America | Bank of America | Bank of America | Bank of America | Citi |
| 4 | Capital One | Bank of America | Bank of America | Bank of America | Bank of America | Bank of America | Citi | Citi | Citi | Citi | MBNA |
| 5 | Bank of America | Capital One | Capital One | Capital One | Capital One | Capital One | Capital One | Capital One | Capital One | Capital One | Bank of America |
| 6 | Discover | US Bank | US Bank | Discover | Discover | Discover | Discover | Discover | Discover | Discover | Capital One |
| 7 | U.S. Bank | Discover | Discover | US Bank | US Bank | US Bank | Wells Fargo | US Bank | US Bank | US Bank | Discover |
| 8 | Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo | US Bank | Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo | Wells Fargo | US Bank |
| 9 | Barclays | Barclays | Barclays | Barclays | Barclays | Barclays | Barclays | Barclays | HSBC | HSBC | HSBC |
| 10 | Synchrony | Synchrony | Synchrony | Synchrony | Synchrony | Synchrony | USAA | USAA | Barclays | Barclays | Wells Fargo |
| 11 | USAA | USAA | USAA | USAA | USAA | USAA | USAA | N/A | USAA | USAA | USAA |
| 12 | Comdata | PNC | PNC | PNC | PNC | PNC | N/A | N/A | Synchrony | Synchrony | WaMu |
(Source: Nilson Report, February 2022)
Store Credit Card Market
Overview of the Store Credit Market
| Info | 2018 | 2017 | Change 2018 vs 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase Volume | $182 (bil.) | $172 (bil.) | 5.7% |
| Outstandings | $131 (bil) | $119 (bil.) | 9.7% |
| Cards in circulation | 392 (mil.) | 381 (mil.) | 2.8% |
(Source: Nilson Report, August 2018 and August 2019)
Market Share of Issuers by Purchase Volume
(Source: Nilson Report, August 2019)
Largest Store Card Issuers by Purchase Volume (In Millions)
| Rank (2018) | Issuer | Market Share (2018) | Purchase Volume (2018) | Purchase Volume (2015) | Purchase Volume (2014) | Purchase Volume (2012) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Synchrony Financial | 39.17% | $71,210 | $61,983 | $54,371 | $54,410 |
| 2 | Citi Retail Setvices | 25.68% | $46,692 | $49,440 | $48,000 | $41,416 |
| 5 | Capital One | 10.40% | $18,912 | $36,410 | $32,509 | $19,148 |
| 3 | Alliance Data | 3.74% | $6,802 | $15,988 | $14,025 | $12,524 |
| 6 | TD Bank | 9.49% | $17,253 | $9,335 | $6,915 | $770 |
| 4 | Wells Fargo Retail Services | 7.67% | $13,944 | $7,789 | $7,017 | $5,568 |
| 7 | Army & Air Force Exchange | 1.06% | $1,931 | $1,714 | $1,863 | $2,033 |
(Source: Nilson Report, August 2013 - August 2019)
Market Share of Issuers by Outstandings
(Source: Nilson Report, August 2019)
Commercial Credit Card Market
Top 12 U.S. Issuers of Commercial Cards based on Purchase Volume (in Billions)
(Source: Nilson Report, May 2022)
Breakdown of Commercial Cards based on Purchase Volume
| Issuer | Corporate | Purchasing and Fleet | Small Business Credit | Small Business Debit | Prepaid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase | $2.47 | $54.50 | $99.46 | $20.1 | $0.0 |
| Bank of America | $6.52 | $43.42 | $51.57 | $50.5 | $25.5 |
| Wells Fargo | $0.0 | $28.69 | $15.86 | $48.5 | $0.3 |
| U.S. Bank | $3.09 | $40.81 | $25.79 | $6.8 | $11.0 |
| Capital One | $0.0 | $0.73 | $77.58 | $2.5 | $0.0 |
| Citibank | $10.97 | $18.73 | $32.66 | $2.7 | $0.0 |
| Comdata | $0.0 | $47.83 | $0.0 | $0.0 | $1.8 |
| PNC | $2.20 | $14.85 | $06.51 | $9.8 | $0.0 |
| Bancorp | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.7 | $32.2 |
| Comerica | $0.0 | $2.02 | $0.0 | $0.8 | $29.8 |
| Truist | $0.86 | $6.28 | $5.72 | $11.6 | $0.0 |
| Meta Bank | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 | $24.2 |
(Source: Nilson Report, May 2022)
