With the economic fallout of the pandemic continuing to unfold, credit card issuers have been issuing fewer cards to Americans and those who are approved are getting significantly lower credit limits.

Newly opened credit cards fell by 65% from April 15 to May 15 this year versus the same period last year, marking the second consecutive month of significant declines, according to a new report by CompareCards.com of 100,000 anonymized credit reports.

Only 2.2 new cards were opened per 100 people with credit reports, compared with 6.7 in 2019.

The declines are enormous, said Matt Schulz, chief industry analyst at CompareCards. Theyre further proof that credit card issuers have really tightened up and really retreated into their shells quite a bit in the wake of the pandemic.

For those who got approved for a new card, the credit line also decreased. The average credit line was $2,013, down from $3,089 in 2019. This comes as lenders tighten credit limits on existing accounts since the start of the pandemic.

Before the pandemic started, it was really pretty easy to get extra, to get a bump in your available credit , Schulz said. Thats certainly not the case anymore and really the biggest issue is big banks still dont have a good handle on risk.

Consumers have a better chance of getting what is considered a starter credit card with limits of a few hundred dollars, rather than a high-end card typically targeting consumers with an excellent credit score in those times, according to Schulz.

A tough environment for banks to try and lend them

In times of high economic uncertainty, its harder for banks to measure a consumers creditworthiness using typical measures.

You have a lot of people who may have an 800 credit score and a good job today that may not have that tomorrow, Schulz said. Thats a tough environment for banks to try and lend to them.