As Coronavirus Depression Continues, Americans Are Putting Their Rent On Credit Cards

It's a temporarily solution that may help tenants get through a month or two, but it's ultimately driving an already broke consumer deeper into debt that will cripple them in the long term. About 84% of tenants in the U.S. have paid full or partial rent through April 12, the WSJ reports, a number that has risen significantly since the first week of April.

But credit cards as a form of payment are also rising by 13%, compared to the first three months of the year. The number of tenants paying with a credit card is up 30% when compared to the same period in March.

While sometimes tenants pay rent with credit cards to boost their credit score or earn rewards, this is increasingly looking like a desperation scenario, where credit cards could be the last fallback before tenants start filing for bankruptcy and wind up out on the street.

In general, electronic payments have risen since the start of the pandemic. Building owners will sometimes accept credit cards through apartment management software or third party apps. Even with interest rates near 0%, the average interest rate on a credit card is still in the double digits. It's even higher for those taking cash advances.