Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in the UK eased slightly to £1.86 billion in April 2026, down from an upwardly revised £1.90 billion in March, but remained above market expectations of £1.7 billion. Within this total, net borrowing on credit cards rose to £0.8 billion in April from £0.7 billion in March. By contrast, net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit, including car dealership finance and personal loans, declined to £1.0 billion from £1.2 billion in March.
The annual growth rate of total consumer credit slowed to 8.8% in April. Over the same period, the annual growth rate of credit card borrowing eased to 11.8% from 12.3%, while the annual growth rate of other consumer credit remained unchanged at 7.4%.
