The news: One-quarter of consumers who don’t currently have a credit card used to have one and are interested in having one again, per a survey from PYMNTS Intelligence and FIS-owned Atelio. The survey calls this group “second chancers.”

• 59% of second chancers believe a credit card would be their preferred payment method if they have one.
• And 50% of this group is interested in getting a secured card.

Why this matters: Secured cards are an important sector of the credit card industry. They can help issuers that focus on lower-score consumers, like Discover, start or restart relationships with consumers while also limiting risk, and they can then build on those relationships if all goes well.

Secured cards also help consumers capitalize on some of credit cards’ benefits.

• The top reason second chancers are interested in a secured card is to help build credit and improve their scores, according to 21.8% of respondents.
• And 13.6% of respondents said having a line of credit available in case of emergencies was important.

The bigger picture: Secured cards are no longer the only option for credit invisibles who want to start or restart their credit card journeys. Subscription credit cards are growing in popularity as introductory lending tools.

They let consumers ease into building credit by charging a monthly subscription fee rather than interest. This can help customers budget and avoid surprises. TD Bank launched its subscription-based Clear card last year, for example, and we expect more issuers to follow suit to bolster acquisition efforts.