“Our findings are good news for consumers, particularly those who only pay off portions of their credit cards each month. Even if they can't pay the full balance, they may now find that lenders view them in a more positive light depending on the amount they do pay,” he said.

The firm discovered that of consumers making payments on their credit cards, 40% will pay their entire balance while 60% will pay somewhat less. Of those 60%, 20% will pay only their card minimum.

TransUnion also came up with a new data point, the Total Payment Ratio, which is found by dividing a consumer's total monthly credit card payment by the total minimum due on their cards. Thus, a consumer who makes $1,200 in card payments on cards on which he had minimum payments of $600 would have a TPR of 2.0.

The firm also found that cardholders who routinely pay only their card minimums are two and three times as risky as those pay more, even if only slightly more.

This information should help credit unions better understand their risk and better tailor their loan pricing, explained Fred Ryerse, senior vice president of lending for the $2.4 billion Members 1^st Federal Credit Union in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Ryerse noted, for example, that this development will enable his credit union to better understand some of the nuances in credit scoring. For example, an auto loan applicant with a credit score of 700 but with a history of making only minimum payments on cards might receive a lower credit limit or pay a somewhat higher interest rate than an auto loan applicant with a base credit score of 690 but a TPR of 2.0.

The same data could also be used as an early warning should a member begin to get into trouble financially, Ryerse observed.

For example, a member who had long had a TPR of 1.3 and who had fallen to making only minimum payments might get a call to see what might have happened and whether the credit union could help overcome some difficulty.