What Is a Periodic Rate?

A periodic rate is a rate of interest charged on a loan or realized on an investment over a specific amount of time. We can calculate a periodic rate by dividing the Annual Percentage Rate by the number of billing periods in the year. For instance, a monthly periodic rate is calculated based on t...

archive2 min read

A periodic rate is a rate of interest charged on a loan or realized on an investment over a specific amount of time. We can calculate a periodic rate by dividing the Annual Percentage Rate by the number of billing periods in the year. For instance, a monthly periodic rate is calculated based on the APR divided by the number of months in a year—12.

A periodic rate is a rate of interest charged on a loan or realized on an investment over a specific amount of time. We can calculate a periodic rate by dividing the Annual Percentage Rate (APR – annual rate charged for borrowing or earned through an investment) by the number of billing periods in the year. For instance, a monthly periodic rate is calculated based on the APR divided by the number of months in a year—12.

Average 2017 revolving credit use in the US1
The 2017 State of Credit data report shows that American consumers overall had an average revolving use rate of 30% in 2016. An in-depth look at the generation data shows that Gen X, those born between 1967–1981, and Gen Z, those born since 1996 had the highest revolving use rates, 37% each.

Millennials or Gen Y, those born between 1982–1995, had the next highest rate at 36%, followed by Baby Boomers, those born between 1947–1966, at 28%. The Silent Generation, those born before 1946, had the lowest revolving utilization rate of all, 15% for 2017. Usage rates declined 1% in 2017 versus 2016 for both Boomers and the Silent Generation.


1Tatham M. (2018, January 22). Which Generation Really Revolves Around Credit? [Blog post].

What Our Clients Say

  • Your team has provided us with outstanding service and outcomes. We couldn't be happier with your work or our progress. All of the members of your team have each shown themselves experts in their respective areas and have been a pleasure to work with.

    Ben Melton

    Product Owner at CapStorm

    Read case study →
  • The partnership, commitment, and skill of the Softjourn team enabled us to navigate this product transformation effectively.
    Eric Rauch

    Eric Rauch

    Co-Founder of Pivot, Pivot

    Read case study →
  • The Softjourn team was very quick to response to issues as well. I'm happy with the result.

    Mike Kenefsky

    Operations Director at PM Vitals, PM Vitals

  • Softjourn's pragmatic approach spotted potential blockers early on, ensuring we stayed on track.
    Sam Mogil

    Sam Mogil

    CEO & Co-Founder, SquadUP

    Read case study →
  • Softjourn's pragmatic approach spotted potential blockers early on, ensuring we stayed on track.
    Richard Bates

    Richard Bates

    Director of Product at Spektrix, Spektrix

    Read case study →
  • Wonderful work on our platform – everything looks great, and you did such a great job!

    Myers-Briggs

    Team Leaders, Myers-Briggs

    Read case study →

Partnership & Recognition

Want to Know More?

Fill out your contact information so we can call you