The 2022 trends that helped shape the credit card sector

Let's recap: US credit card transaction volume hit $3.089 trillion in 2022, per Insider Intelligence forecasts. Here's a look back at some of the trends that influenced the card sector this year.

1. Card players leaned heavily into payment flexibility. Issuers like JPMorgan and TD Bank introduced new flexible payment offerings in 2022 to compete with buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers and encourage consumer spending. Visa and Mastercard also ramped up their BNPL programs to help them grab a share of the $75.60 billion BNPL market in the US. Consumers embraced flexible payment options as high inflation persisted through 2022.