More credit cards than ever are remaining dormant, reaching a record share of all cards issued as firms engage in fierce competition to attract customers, data showed Monday. The statistics, released by the Credit Finance Association, showed that dormant credit cards — defined as those unused for over a year and temporarily suspended — rose to 14.9 percent of all issued cards in 2025. According to the association, the surge in dormant cards reflects excessive competition among credit issuers, each vying to lure customers from rivals in a time of weakening profitability. The association highlighted the steady upward trend of card dormancy, which has risen from less than 10 percent in 2021 to 13.9 percent in 2024. The number of dormant cards has increased roughly four times faster than the total number of cards issued in recent years. Dormant cards rose 24 percent compared with 6.4 percent for all cards in 2022, 13 percent versus 3.7 percent in 2024 and 9 percent versus 2 percent in 2025. “In a limited market, credit card companies repeatedly engage in short-term, zero-sum competition