Americans paid banks $113 billion in credit card interest during 2018, according to a new study from MagnifyMoney. That’s up 12% from interest paid in 2017, and up by roughly half over the last five years.
One big reason is that, 10 years after the financial crisis, Americans finally feel confident enough to borrow more, and total credit card debt recently reached a record high. But borrowers are also paying more on what they borrow, as banks pass recent Federal Reserve rate hikes onto customers.