The number of consumers delinquent on their credit card payments by 90 days or more fell to 0.83 percent in the third quarter, a 24.6 percent decrease from the same time a year ago and 9.8 percent fall from the second quarter, according to a recent TransUnion report.

The report estimates more than 8 million consumers stopped actively using bank-issued, general purpose credit cards over the past year, according to a statement. This is thought to be due in part to charge-offs in the higher-risk segments of the population, more conservative spending in the low-risk segments and significant efforts by consumers across the board to maintain the health of their credit card relationships as a financial cushion.

"On the delinquency side, the news remains good as consumers continue to show fiscal responsibility in paying down their credit card obligations," said Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting in TransUnion’s financial services business unit. "As we have seen since the beginning of the recession, incident delinquency rates in the credit card space remain well within expected annual variance and seasonal norms. Moreover, the drop in the savings rate quarter over quarter, coupled with the drop in the number of active cardholders, might lead one to infer that consumers are shifting their focus away from a pure savings mindset to one that may include increased non-credit spending, such as through debit or checking transactions."