Americans are missing credit card payments at the highest rate in a decade

• As of September, US credit-card delinquency rates were at the highest rate in a decade.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said 3.2% of card balances were at least 30 days past due.
• US households are weakening, and household finances appear on shaky ground.

Americans are having a harder time paying off their credit cards. 

A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found credit-card delinquency rates have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with the share of balances 30 days past due hovering at the highest mark since late 2012. 

In the second quarter of 2021, credit card delinquency rates were at historic lows. Those figures have steadily climbed since then, however, and the spending behavior reflects "greater consumer fragility," Philadelphia Fed economists said.