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Minimum credit card payments are now the expectation for a quarter of Canadian cardholders, according to survey results Equifax Canada released on August 6, 2026. Twenty-five per cent of respondents said they expect to be able to afford only the minimum on their cards, and a further seven per cent said they believe they are likely to fall behind entirely.
In this article: the survey findings · what a minimum payment actually is · why it costs more · the wider pressure picture · what it means for borrowers · key takeaways · sources
What the survey found
Equifax Canada surveyed 1,532 Canadians aged 18 to 65 between July 17 and 19, 2026, using Leger's online panel. The company reports a margin of error of ±2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
| Expectation for credit card payments | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Pay the balance in full each month | 56% |
| Make only minimum credit card payments | 25% |
| Likely to fall behind | 7% |
Read together, the bottom two rows describe roughly a third of cardholders who do not expect to clear their balances. That is the number worth holding onto, because minimum credit card payments and missed payments are two points on the same continuum rather than separate conditions.
Rebecca Oakes, Vice-President of Advanced Analytics at Equifax Canada, said in the release that "the results point to mounting financial pressure for many households."
What minimum credit card payments actually are
A minimum payment is not a discount or a payment holiday. It is the smallest amount an issuer will accept without recording the account as delinquent, and it is generally set to cover the interest accrued plus a small portion of the principal.
That design has a consequence most cardholders never see spelled out: an account paid at the minimum every month can remain open for years, and the great majority of what is paid in the early period goes to interest rather than to the balance.
Julie Kuzmic, Head of Consumer Advocacy and Compliance at Equifax Canada, put it directly in the release:
"Financial pressure often builds gradually, and making only the minimum payment can sometimes feel like a way to manage through a difficult month. However, balances can take much longer to repay and cost considerably more in interest."
The phrase worth noticing is "a difficult month." Minimum credit card payments are a reasonable tool for a single bad month. The survey suggests a substantial share of Canadians now expect them to be the ongoing arrangement.
The pressure behind the number
The minimum-payment finding does not stand alone. Elsewhere in the same survey:
- 40 per cent said they are spending more overall than a year ago — more than double the 18 per cent spending less
- 29 per cent are using more credit than a year ago for groceries, utilities and other essential living expenses
- 23 per cent are drawing on savings to cover day-to-day costs
- 20 per cent are relying more on credit cards or lines of credit
- 13 per cent are borrowing money to cover basic living expenses
Oakes added that "when these pressures begin to overlap, households can lose financial flexibility quickly."
That overlap is the mechanism. A household using credit for groceries and drawing on savings for daily costs has already spent the two buffers that would normally absorb a surprise — which is how minimum credit card payments stop being a one-month decision and become a standing one.
The counterweight in the data
The survey is not uniformly bleak, and it is worth reporting the other side accurately.
Fifty-six per cent expect to pay their balances in full each month — still the majority. And 60 per cent said they are actively avoiding new debt, which is a deliberate, protective behaviour rather than a distress signal.
Households are also cutting where they can. Sixty-seven per cent have reduced entertainment and leisure spending and 40 per cent have cut personal care spending. More concerning, 32 per cent report reducing spending on essential living expenses including groceries and utilities, and 35 per cent have reduced contributions to savings, investments or education funds.
So the picture is of households absorbing pressure by trimming discretionary spending first, then savings, then essentials — with credit filling the remaining gap.
Why minimum credit card payments matter for borrowers
Three practical implications follow for Canadian borrowers.
Minimum credit card payments are expensive but they are not a default. Paid on time, they do not create a delinquency on a credit file. What they do is keep utilisation high, and utilisation is a significant scoring factor. The seven per cent expecting to fall behind are in a materially different position — that is where credit files are damaged.
Rising essential-spending on credit changes what lenders see. Lenders that assess on bank data read 60 to 90 days of transactions, and a pattern of groceries and utilities on credit is visible in that window. It does not automatically prevent approval, but it changes the affordability picture.
Cheaper options exist and are underused. A cardholder making minimum credit card payments on a high-rate balance may be eligible for a lower-rate product, a balance transfer, or a structured repayment arrangement with the issuer. All three cost less than years of minimum payments, and none requires a new lender.
Key takeaways
- 25 per cent of Canadians expect to make only minimum credit card payments; 7 per cent expect to fall behind; 56 per cent expect to pay in full.
- Survey of 1,532 Canadians aged 18–65, July 17–19, 2026, Leger online panel, margin of error ±2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
- 29 per cent are using more credit for essentials; 23 per cent are drawing on savings for day-to-day costs.
- 60 per cent are actively avoiding new debt — the pressure is a squeeze, not a spending boom.
- The minimum covers interest plus a small slice of principal, so balances "take much longer to repay and cost considerably more in interest" (Kuzmic).
Conclusion
The headline finding is an expectation, not an outcome — these are Canadians describing what they think July and August will look like, not a record of what happened. But expectations of this kind are usually accurate, because cardholders know their own cash flow.
For anyone in the 25 per cent, the useful response is not guilt but arithmetic: find out what the balance costs at the minimum, and compare that against a lower-rate option or a repayment arrangement. Minimum credit card payments are a legitimate short-term tool. They are an expensive long-term plan.
Sources
- Equifax Canada — Survey release, August 6, 2026
- Global News — Consumers using savings to pay for essentials and piling up debt
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — How credit cards work
This article reports survey findings published by Equifax Canada and is general information, not financial advice.