For a while it seemed that neither record commodity prices nor falling wealth could put a dent in American consumers’ propensity to pay with plastic, but the moment of frugal reckoning is now finally here. August had the biggest drop in revolving debt on record and the last several weeks were probably even worse.

The fall in spending and rising late credit card payments have naturally weighed on the financial sector. Lately though, companies such as Visa and MasterCard that depend on transaction volumes rather than creditworthiness have been hit nearly as hard as those facing delinquencies. The largest issuers of credit cards are big banks, but they have many other businesses and have gyrated recently on separate concerns. Three that come close to being pure plays on cards while still having credit exposure are Capital One, American Express and Discover Financial Services and they are off by an average of 51 per cent from their 52 week highs. Visa and Mastercard’s drops of 35 and 46 per cent, respectively, are better but still an overreaction.