The Fed hasn't raised interest rates this year and isn't expected to do so any time soon, but interest rates on credit cards are still increasing.
Why it matters: U.S. card holders are expected to pay $122 billion in interest charges in 2019. That's 12% more than what they paid in 2017 and 50% more than what they paid as recently as 2014.
By the numbers:
- Credit card interest rates tend to move in concert with U.S. overnight interest rates, controlled by the Fed.
- LendingTree's Magnify Money website found that between December 2015 and December 2018, the Fed had increased rates by 2%, while credit card interest rates had increased by 2.16%.
- The average credit card assessed interest rate is now 16.91%. It was 13.14% in the first quarter of 2014.