The news: Consumers aren’t confident in their ability to access new credit, and a growing share are concerned they can’t, per Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s August Survey of Consumer Expectations.

• 45.9% of consumers said it was “somewhat hard” or “much harder” to obtain credit in August, up from 40.9% a year ago.
• The average perceived probability of missing a minimum debt payment over the next three months also increased by 1.2 percentage points to 13.2%.
• Just 18.3% of consumers said they were better off now than they were a year ago, versus 38.6% who said they were worse off. 

At the same time, banks noted slightly stronger demand for credit and tighter underwriting for lending. 

• 13.3% of banks noted “moderately stronger” demand for credit card loans over the past three months, per the July 2026 Senior Loan Officer Survey on Bank Lending Practices. 
• At the same time, 6.7% of banks reported tightening their credit standards for approving applications over the past three months, per the same survey.

Why this matters: A psychological access gap is limiting some consumers from applying for credit cards. With the090926 rate of credit rejections falling sharply from October 2025, consumers’ perceptions of their possible rejection rates likely are higher than their actual acceptance rate for credit.  

• 42% of consumers doubt they would be approved for a credit card, per a report from i2c and PYMNTS.
• Within the same study, only 15% of those surveyed reported credit denials, showcasing the wide gap between perceived versus actual creditworthiness.

Implications for payment providers: Issuers need to balance their bet on their affluent spenders to buoy payment volume while also drawing in other households who may not believe they are eligible for new lines of credit

Issuers should focus on expanding their marketing of credit cards to average US adults, emphasizing eligibility criteria to pick up new users.

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