US consumers paid almost 50 per cent more in credit card expenses last year than in 2020, the year before President Joe Biden took office, putting pressure on family budgets and firing up an election issue about what Republicans say is a cost of living crisis.

Credit card interest and fees increased by $51bn in that time to $157bn, according to data provided by US banks to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Delinquencies on credit card loans are also running at their highest level in almost 13 years, according to data from Moody’s Analytics, even as banks have reported record profits from credit card lending.

The rise in credit card costs has come as the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 23-year high but lenders have pushed consumer borrowing rates higher still. The central bank, which meets on Wednesday, is not expected to begin cutting rates until this summer.

Republicans have seized on credit card debt as an example of how Biden’s economic policies have triggered what they say is a cost of living crisis for low-income Americans, while his administration has sought to show it is clamping down on credit card companies charging excessive fees.