In the CFPB’s survey of credit card plans for the second half of 2025, the typical plan from one of the 25 largest card issuers reported a median purchase APR of 26.99%. For plans from smaller banks and credit unions, the typical figure was 14.50%. The survey covers 663 plans from 195 institutions.
56 plans were secured cards, which require a cash deposit, from 39 issuers. The typical secured plan reported a median APR of 21.99%: 26.99% at the largest issuers and 13.89% at smaller ones.
What the APR figure means
Each issuer reports, for each card plan, the median purchase APR on new accounts opened during the six-month survey period, according to the CFPB’s survey user guide. We then took the middle value of those plan medians within each group. It is not weighted by how many accounts each plan has, so a small credit union plan counts as much as a large bank’s flagship card. The CFPB’s online data dictionary describes this field as the median APR "if APR does not vary by creditworthiness", but issuers filled it in for most plans whose APR does vary, and the user guide asks for it in both cases, so we use it for all plans. Not every plan reported it.
The 25 largest issuers are not the same kind of lender as small credit unions. Federal credit unions are limited by law to an 18% APR on most loans, and many smaller plans are only open to members or people in one area. So the gap describes the market, not what any one person would be offered.
APR, late fees and annual fees by group
| Group | Plans | Plans reporting a median APR | Median of plan median APRs | Median APR, scores 619 or less | Plans reporting a 619-or-less APR | Median late fee | Share of plans with an annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 25 issuers | 410 | 406 | 26.99% | 28.49% | 148 | $29 | 25.1% |
| Smaller banks and credit unions | 253 | 219 | 14.50% | 17.99% | 114 | $25 | 4.0% |
| All plans | 663 | 625 | 24.49% | 25.99% | 262 | $29 | 17.0% |
| Secured, top 25 | 27 | 25 | 26.99% | n.a. | 2 | $29 | 18.5% |
| Secured, smaller | 29 | 22 | 13.89% | 16.22% | 6 | $25 | 6.9% |
| Secured, all | 56 | 47 | 21.99% | 17.62% | 8 | $28 | 12.5% |
APRs and fees are medians across plans, our calculation. The 619-or-less column uses the separate field for that score tier, filled in only by plans whose APR varies by credit score; groups with fewer than 5 such plans show n.a. Annual fee share counts plans with any annual fee above zero. The CSV lists each plan with its reported rates and fees.
Source
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Terms of Credit Card Plans survey data, reporting period ending December 31, 2025 (cfpb_tccp-data_2025-12-31.xlsx), and TCCP survey user guide, downloaded October 15, 2026. U.S. government data in the public domain. Our table is available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "Credit Card APRs by Issuer Size," My Credit Guide, October 15, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/credit-card-apr-by-issuer-size/.