Credit card payment delinquencies rose the fastest in Western Canada in the past year, according to data released Friday by Equifax Canada.
On a yearly basis, the average delinquency rates rose 27% in B.C. and 26% in Alberta, well above the national average of 18.8%.
Across Canada, the delinquency rate rose to 1.52%, meaning more than 500,000 Canadians are now more than 90 days behind on their credit card payments.
Equifax reported that the increase in overdue payments has risen substantially in the past three months. In the past year, delinquent payments for credit cards and sales financing rose 38% and 58%, respectively.
"Such transactions typically represent the purchase of durable goods such as furniture and electronics," said Nadim Abdo, Equifax Canada's vice-president of consulting solutions. "Consumers appear to be willing to fall behind on them first before they miss payments on their bank loans and lines of credit."
Despite the increase in delinquencies, Vancouver's rate was among the lowest in Canada at 1.18%, second only to Quebec City at 0.83%. Toronto had the highest delinquency rate at 1.98%.
Provincially, despite the increase in the number of people falling behind on their payments, Western Canada still has the lowest delinquency rates, with B.C. at 1.31% and Alberta at 1.42%.