Revolver vs. Transactor: What Kind of Credit User are You? (2024)

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Most credit users are revolvers, meaning they pay more to use credit.

Revolver vs. Transactor: What Kind of Credit User are You? (1)

Credit card companies divide credit users into three basic groups.

  • A “dormant” user doesn’t use their account regularly, so it becomes inactive due to lack of use.
  • A “revolver” is someone who carries balances over from one month to the next. The name comes from “revolving debt,” which refers to debt accrued on an open credit line, like a credit card.
  • A “transactor” is a person who pays off their balances in full every month. The name comes from “credit card transactions”

According to a new study by the American Banker’s Association (ABA) almost half of credit card users are revolvers (43.7%). Only 29.1% are transactors, the remaining 27.2% are dormant. The ABA crunched the numbers to find that roughly 60% of all active accounts carry a balance.

Revolver vs transactor – which is better?

From a consumer perspective, being a transactor is almost always better because it saves you money. A creditor only applies interest charges on a balance that you carry over from one month to the next. So, if you start a billing cycle with a zero balance and then pay off the debt in-full you avoid interest charges entirely. However, if you start the month with an outstanding balance or don’t pay off your charges in-full then you face interest charges.

Credit card companies prefer revolvers because interest charges equal profits for them. Transactors effectively use credit cards like month-to-month interest-free loans. They never charge more than they can afford to pay off. So, they never pay interest charges.

“Paying off debt in-full every month is the smartest way you can use credit cards,” encourages Gary Herman, President of Consolidated Credit. “Credit cards don’t have to be the enemy of a stable, healthy financial outlook when you use them strategically. If you get all the convenience of credit without the interest charges tacked on, that’s winning.”

More months means more opportunities to apply interest charges

The longer you let a credit card debt carry over, the more it costs. Let’s say you make a $500 purchase on a credit card with an average 15% APR for purchases. On a standard credit card payment schedule:

  • It would take 44 months (almost 4 years) to pay off with minimum payments. Total interest charges equal out to $185.87
  • If you make $50 payments, you can eliminate the debt in 2 years with $78.97 in total interest charges.
  • With $100 payments, you drop the payoff down to 6 months with $19.63 in interest charges.

“Interest charges stack up quickly,” Herman advises. “This is why you want to eliminate debt as quickly as possible. And you certainly don’t want to leave small balances to accrue interest charges month after month. Pay them off and cut that added cost out of your budget.”

If you’re struggling to pay off credit card debt so you can minimize runaway interest charges, we can help. Call Consolidated Credit today at (844) 276-1544 or complete an online application for a free, confidential debt evaluation.

Revolver vs. Transactor: What Kind of Credit User are You? (2024)

FAQs

What type of credit card users are revolvers? ›

Transactors are credit card users who pay off their balance every month and so incur no interest charges. Revolvers are credit card users who do, occasionally or regularly, pay off only part of their monthly balance and so do incur interest charges.

Is it better to be a transactor or a revolver? ›

Revolver vs transactor – which is better? From a consumer perspective, being a transactor is almost always better because it saves you money. A creditor only applies interest charges on a balance that you carry over from one month to the next.

What is the difference between a transaction and a revolver? ›

Transactors do not carry a balance from month to month; they always pay their credit card bills in full by the due date, so they are not required to pay interest or late fees. The opposite of a transactor is a revolver—a consumer who carries a credit card balance from one month to the next.

What is a revolver credit card user? ›

A revolver refers to a borrower—either an individual or a company—who carries a balance from month to month via a revolving credit line. Borrowers are only obligated to make minimum monthly payments, which go toward paying interest and reducing principal debt.

What does transactor mean? ›

someone who conducts or carries on business or negotiations. type of: businessman, man of affairs.

What is a revolver classified as? ›

Both are handguns. A revolver contains a revolving cylinder in which bullets are loaded. Revolvers usually hold six shots. The ATF defines a pistol as any handgun that does not contain its ammunition in a revolving cylinder. Most pistols have a removable magazine into which bullets are loaded.

What are the cons of the revolver? ›

Revolver Cons
  • Capacity: Most revolvers can only hold 6-10 rounds in the chamber. This may be a major drawback in a self-defense situation.
  • Heavy Trigger Pull: If you lack grip strength, revolvers may not be ideal as they have a heavy trigger pull.

Why do I prefer a revolver? ›

Simplicity. Revolvers are simpler mechanically than semi-automatic handguns. With fewer moving parts comes a lowered risk of the firearm having issues like malfunctioning.

Is a revolver senior debt? ›

A revolver is a form of senior bank debt that acts like a credit card for companies and is generally used to help fund a company's working capital needs.

What is a revolver in credit? ›

A revolving loan facility, also called a revolving credit facility or simply revolver, is a form of credit issued by a financial institution that provides the borrower with the ability to draw down or withdraw, repay, and withdraw again.

Why still use a revolver? ›

A revolver's grip does not hold a magazine, and it can be designed or customized much more than the grip of a typical semi-automatic. Partially because of these reasons, revolvers still hold significant market share as concealed carry and home-defense weapons.

How does a revolver work debt? ›

In revolver debt, the borrower is, instead, given a line of credit with a maximum limit. The borrower can access any amount up to this limit at any time and does not have a specific term within which to pay the loan back. However, interest will accrue on any outstanding funds borrowed.

What is the difference between a revolver and a transactor? ›

Subscribe Now Get The Financial Brand's FREE Newsletter The differences between credit revolvers, who carry a balance on their credit cards, and credit transactors, who pay their cards off in full every month, illustrate the power of analyzing nontraditional data, with insights that range from how they maintain their ...

What are two types of credit card users? ›

The Many Sides of Consumer Credit Cardholders and Their Needs
  • Transactor – a credit card user who uses their card for purchases and pays the balance in full each month.
  • Revolver – a credit card user who may not use their card for purchases yet carries an outstanding balance that is accruing interest.
Mar 19, 2018

What percentage of credit card users are revolvers? ›

Here's an explanation for how we make money . More credit cardholders are carrying card balances from month to month, a recent Bankrate credit card debt survey finds. In November 2023, 49 percent of cardholders fell into this credit card “debt revolver” category — up from 39 percent in 2021 and 47 percent in July 2023.

What is the difference between a convenience user and a revolver? ›

We find that for revolvers, credit limit changes are between one-third and one-half as salient as debt changes on average. For convenience users, credit limit changes are only 6% as salient as debt changes. Third, our estimates suggest that revolving is persistent.

Is revolver considered senior debt? ›

A revolver is a form of senior bank debt that acts like a credit card for companies and is generally used to help fund a company's working capital needs.

What are revolvers in credit? ›

A revolving loan facility, also called a revolving credit facility or simply revolver, is a form of credit issued by a financial institution that provides the borrower with the ability to draw down or withdraw, repay, and withdraw again.

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