DAVID GREENE, Host: NPR's business news starts with a drop in late payments.</s>DAVID GREENE, Host: Turns out American credit card users are managing their bills better. The credit reporting agency TransUnion says the rate of delinquent payments - 90 days late or more - has dropped to its lowest level in 17 years. Quarterly bank numbers also shows that Americans are carrying less debt on their cards.</s>DAVID GREENE, Host: An official at TransUnion says people are becoming more responsible about using credit, and they're cutting back on the number of cards in their wallets. Still, the drop in delinquent payments also comes as banks have made it harder to get a credit card.
The credit reporting agency TransUnion says the rate of delinquent payments — 90 days late or more — has dropped to its lowest level in 17 years. Quarterly bank data also show that Americans are carrying less debt on their cards.