Examining the factors affecting the level of credit card usage: The case of Turkey

Credit cards are a common payment tool that consumers use to buy goods and services instead of cash. The use of credit card has benefits such as eliminating the need to carry cash, increasing the credit rating and earning rewards from the purchases made. In the existing studies that investigate the factors of credit card usage, demographic variables such as credit card holder's gender, age, education level, marital status, and income level have frequently been used. Using the Household Budget Survey (HBA) published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURSTAT) for the period 2017-2019, the purpose of this study is to investigate demographic factors affecting the choice of credit card of the household individuals by applying Logit model. Demographic factors includes gender, age, marital status, educational attaintment and income level. Similar findings are observed for all analyzed years. According to the results, the household individual's gender, age, income status, educational attainment, and marital status are the important factors in determining credit card ownership. In particular, the higher the educational attainment and income level, the higher probability of credit card usage. Further, individuals' usage of credit card varies according to marital status and different age groups.