Latest UK credit card news
- Consumers tightening their belts
With rising food prices, utility bills and petrol/diesel going up on what seems like a daily basis, people in the UK are cutting back on their spending and facing difficult financial decisions. Latest surveys show consumers are reining in spending on leisure, entertainment and eating out. At this time it is essential to make the right financial decisions - make sure your credit cards have the lowest interest rates in the market. Try and pay them in full every month to avoid paying interest at all.
- Reward cards now more popular than 0% interest offers
According to a new study credit cards that offer cashback or other rewards, such as points redeemable for goods, are now more popular than those offering 0% interest offers. However over 50% of people still have standard credit cards offering no discounts or rewards.
- New credit cards added
We have added Barclaycard to our list of credit card providers.
- Overseas credit card fraud
Recent research by Barclaycard has revealed that Turkey is the overseas fraud hotspot for UK credit cards. Other countries in the top four are France, Spain and the United States.
Between them these four countries accounted for over 56% of all foreign fraud recorded by Barclaycard last year. The full top ten is printed below.
- Turkey
- France
- Spain
- USA
- Italy
- China
- Thailand
- Ireland
- India
- Netherlands
- Beware order of payments
When searching for your credit card check how the provider allocates payments.
Almost all UK card providers choose to allocate payments first to outstanding balances at the lowest rates of interest (eg. 0% balance transfers). This leaves balances at higher interest rates, such as purchases and cash advances, to continue to accrue interest. If you take out a credit card offering a special low rate but allocating payments in this way you will not benefit fully from the low interest rates.
- More credit cards added to site
In our charities section we have added cards for Childline, National Trust, WWF and Breakthrough Breast Cancer Care.
- Voice recognition credit card in the future
Scientists are developing a credit card that will not work unless it hears its owner's voice. This type of card could be used in the future to combat fraud.
The card requires it's owner to give a spoken password that it authenticates using a built-in voice-recognition chip. A prototype has been made but presently it is three times as thick as an ordinary card.
- OFT caps late payment charges
The office of fair trading (OFT) have decreed that charges for late payments on credit cards are disproportionate and unfair to consumers and must be reduced. It has capped the new penalty at £12, specifically targeting credit card providers charging between £20 and £30.
Credit card providers have been threatened with legal action if they fail to comply.
- Internet sales continue to rise
In the last five years, internet retail sales in the UK rose by over 350%, compared with growth of only 20% for all retail sales. In 2005, the typical online shopper spent £560 online, and forecasts suggest that this could grow to over £860 per year by 2010.
- Credit card spending set to double
Overall credit card spending is set to double from £645 to £1,225 over the next three months with spending on the home and car likely to fuel this increase reports suggest.
Credit card holders are preparing to splash out for the DIY season estimating they will spend an average of £363 on the home and car.
- More credit card debt for older cardholders
Alliance & Leicester research details how much people have outstanding on their credit cards, broken down by age of the card holder.
On average the under-30s have £1,073 outstanding on their credit cards 30-50 year olds have £2,580 outstanding on average.
- UK consumer debt over £1 trillion !!
UK consumer debt reaches £1.1 trillion. However confidence among borrowers remains high.
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