Global Credit Card Issuers of 2026
US GP credit: Chase $1.344T purchase volume, Amex $1.168T; China CMB ~CNY 4.08T, CCB CNY 2.56T. Networks covered in the payments post.
Main table: US general-purpose credit card issuers by purchase volume
Compiled 2026-08-14. Ranked by Nilson Report US general-purpose credit card issuer purchase volume (goods and services; consumer, small business and commercial). Main table uses full-year CY2024; 2025 US market totals are in the side table. Card networks: global payments.
| # | Issuer | Purchase volume | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JPMorgan Chase | $1.344T | Sixth straight year at #1; Nilson / GlobeNewswire |
| 2 | American Express | $1.168T | US direct-issue cut; worldwide billed business in side table |
| 3 | Citi | $616.1B | Nilson #3 |
| 4 | Capital One | $610B | WalletHub citing Nilson; Discover closed into Cap One in 2025 |
| 5 | Bank of America | $502B | WalletHub citing Nilson |
| 6 | Discover | Total volume $224.58B | Purchases + cash advances; cash ~5.5% |
US general-purpose credit purchase volume was about $6.136T in 2024 (+5.3%); the top 10 issuers did about $5.064T. Chase is about $1.34T; Amex US direct about $1.17T; Citi and Capital One sit near $600B.
Main table: China credit card issuers by spend / transaction volume
Ranked by 2025 annual-report credit-card spend / transaction volume. FX for ranking only: about CNY 7.2 = USD 1. Agricultural Bank only says “over CNY 2T” without an exact figure, so it sits after Ping An.
| # | Bank | Spend / volume | USD equiv. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China Merchants Bank | CNY 4,082.047bn | ~$567B | Transaction volume; −7.62%; 97.45m circulating cards |
| 2 | China Construction Bank | CNY 2.56T | ~$356B | Total consumption; loans ~CNY 1.01T lead peers |
| 3 | Bank of Communications | CNY 2,183.782bn | ~$303B | Cumulative spend |
| 4 | China CITIC Bank | CNY 2.18T | ~$303B | Transaction volume; 129m cards issued |
| 5 | Ping An Bank | CNY 2,012.435bn | ~$280B | Total consumption |
| 6 | Agricultural Bank of China | over CNY 2T | ~$278B+ | Exact figure not disclosed; loans CNY 850.1bn |
| 7 | ICBC | CNY 1.83T | ~$254B | Spend; 145m cards |
| 8 | Industrial Bank | CNY 1,736.862bn | ~$241B | Transaction amount |
| 9 | China Everbright Bank | CNY 1,483.475bn | ~$206B | Transaction amount |
| 10 | Bank of China | CNY 1,103.677bn | ~$153B | Spend; ~150m cards issued |
CMB’s roughly CNY 4.1T (~$567B) sits between the US top five and Discover. CCB is about CNY 2.56T; BoCom and CITIC are both near CNY 2.2T.
Side table: 2025 market, global and balances
| Cut | Figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| US GP credit purchase volume 2025 | $6.512T (+6.1%) | Nilson; top 10 ~$5.344T |
| US H1 2025 top-30 purchase volume | $2.825T (+4.3%) | Nilson midyear |
| Global top 150 issuers purchase volume | $13.124T | Nilson public summary |
| Amex worldwide billed business | $1.6698T (+8%) | CY2025 annual report |
| US receivables YE2024 | $1.346T (+7.9%) | Nilson / GlobeNewswire |
| China cards in force | 696m (−31m) | PBOC 2025 payment-system report |
| China loan leaders | CCB ~CNY 1,009bn; CMB ~CNY 939bn; ABC ~CNY 850bn | YE2025 outstandings |
| 2025 US seat order (relay) | Chase ≈$1.4T+; Amex ≈$1.2T+; Cap One ≈$800B | U.S. News citing Nilson; Discover combination |
How we ranked
Main table one uses US general-purpose issuer purchase volume (Nilson CY2024 full figures). Main table two uses China listed banks’ 2025 credit-card spend / transaction volume. Side table covers 2025 US totals, global top 150, Amex worldwide billed, PBOC cards in force and loan balances. Board defaults to S–D.
| Source | When | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| GlobeNewswire · Nilson US issuers 2024 | 2025-03 | US $6.136T; Chase $1.344T; Amex $1.168T; Citi $616.1B; top 10 $5.064T |
| WalletHub · issuer market share | 2025 | Nilson relay: Cap One $610B; BofA $502B |
| Nilson · Largest US issuers 2025 | 2026-02 | 2025 US ~$6.512T; top 10 ~$5.344T |
| Nilson · midyear 2025 | 2025 | Top-30 H1 purchase volume $2.825T |
| Nilson · Discover 2024 | 2025 | Total volume $224.58B |
| Nilson · Top credit card issuers | 2026 | Global top 150 purchase volume $13.124T |
| Amex · Annual Report 2025 | 2026 | Worldwide billed business $1,669.8B (+8%) |
| U.S. News · biggest US issuers | 2026-03 | 2025 Nilson seat-order approx |
| Xueqiu / POS circle · 14 banks | 2026-03 | CMB / CCB / BoCom 2025 spend and balances |
| Beijing Business Today / Eastmoney | 2026-04 | Card counts and loan contraction; PBOC 696m |
| mpaypass · PBOC 2025 payments | 2026-02 | Credit + dual-function cards 696m |
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