In Our Best Interest: Women, Financial Literacy, and Credit Card Behavior

Abstract

Data from the FINRA Foundation National Financial Capability Study revealed that women with low levels of financial literacy were more likely to engage in costly credit card behaviors—like incurring late and over-the-limit fees—than men with low financial literacy. There were, however, no differences in behavior between men and women with high financial literacy. Further, women and low financial literacy respondents reported paying higher interest rates on their credit cards. These findings suggest that increasing financial literacy may help reduce some gender-based differences in credit card behavior and lower credit card interest rates for both men and women.

Keywords

• financial literacy
• gender
• credit cards