Citigroup to issue China credit cards
The US bank will become the first western lender to offer its own-brand mainland cards in China after winning approval for the move
Read More: FT – UK Companies
Borrowers ‘shunning credit cards’
Demand for credit cards is “feeling the strain” as UK borrowers turn to other forms of finance, a report suggests.
Read More: BBC News – Your Money
UK families £7,900 in debt
UK households owe an average of £7,900 on personal loans, overdrafts and credit cards.
Read More: The Telegraph – Money Saving Tips
Bank scraps charity credit cards
Halifax and Bank of Scotland charity credit cards which have helped to raise millions of pounds will be withdrawn, Lloyds Banking Group announces
Read More: BBC News – Your Money
Bank ends charity credit cards
Halifax and Bank of Scotland charity credit cards which have helped to raise millions of pounds will be withdrawn from the end of February, Lloyds Banking Group announces
Read More: BBC News – Your Money
Call for FCA to regulate consumer credit
Consumer groups want to shift the oversight of ‘payday lending’ and credit cards to the new watchdog with an ‘interventionist’ approach
Read More: FT – Politics
Websites flouting EU credit rules
A sweep of websites across the EU that offer credit cards, loans and finance finds that 70% were flouting the rules.
Read More: BBC News – Your Money
Visa reports fall in Christmas spending
Payments business Visa has reported a 2.3 per cent fall in spending on credit and debit cards over the four weeks to 27 November, compared with the same period in 2010.
Last week, which is traditionally one of the UK’s biggest Christmas shopping weeks, spending on cards fell both on the High Street and online, with sales 6.2 per cent lower than in the equivalent week last year.
John Lewis also reported slower trading, supporting Visa’s figures and suggesting that consumers are cutting down what on Christmas spending this year.
In the week to 26 November, the retailer’s sales fell 1.2 per cent compared with a year earlier.
Retailers have been hit by a fall in consumer confidence due to uncertainty over the economy, rising unemployment and an increase in household costs, including steep rises in the price of energy.
This week, John Lewis’s sales were up 10.5 per cent in the four days to 20 November, compared with last year, however this time last year the UK was covered in heavy snow which caused shoppers to stay at home.
Visa, which accounts for one in every four pounds spent, said that the poor trading figure may just indicate that shoppers are leaving it later to do their Christmas shopping than last year.
Despite signs that shoppers are tightening their purse strings, recent research by MoneySupermarket.com found that 25 per cent of people in the UK expect to go over budget this Christmas.
Based on an average expenditure of £437 on Christmas presents, food and alcohol, and an average credit card APR of 18.44%, MoneySupermarket.com warns that Christmas spending could cost an extra £70.20 in interest by Christmas 2012.
The comparison site is encouraging shoppers to make sure their credit card is appropriate for their needs.
Read More: Finance Markets – Credit Cards
Millions switch cards when 0% deal expires
New figures from Sainsbury’s Bank suggest that nearly two million credit card holders intend to switch providers over the next year, when their 0 per cent balance transfer offer expires.
A further 900,000 card holders will switch when their 0 per cent purchase deal expires, according to the bank’s latest research.
After the introductory offer on these cards expires, the average percentage rate charge rises to 18.2 per cent while the APR on new purchases rises on average to 18 per cent, so it’s hardly surprising that customers chose to move.
There are several cards offering a much more competitive rate including Sainsbury’s card at 6.9 per cent and Barclaycard at 7.9 per cent, while many customers are likely to take up a new 0 per cent balance transfer deal.
However, significantly fewer people will be using a credit card to pay for Christmas this year, according to new research by Legal & General.
Around a third of households paid for Christmas with credit cards last year, but this number is expected to drop to a fifth this year.
With increasing pressure on household incomes coming for all directions, a third of households are planning to spend less on gifts this year, according to the Money Mood survey of 1,000 adults.
Sixty-seven per cent said they had enough money put aside for Christmas, while in the London and West Midlands, just 60 per cent of people said they had enough money saved for the festive season.
People in the north of England are the best prepared, with 79 per cent saying they had saved enough money to pay for what they need, while in Wales and Scotland the figures fell to 72 per cent and 68 per cent respectively.
Read More: Finance Markets – Credit Cards
Energy prices: 70pc of consumers will use credit to pay their gas and electric bills
Seven in ten consumers will need to turn to their savings, credit cards or overdraft to fund rising energy bills according to new figures from Moneysupermarket.com.
Read More: The Telegraph – Money Saving Tips
Energy prices: 70pf of consumers will use credit to pay their gas and electric bills
Seven in ten consumers will need to turn to their savings, credit cards or overdraft to fund rising energy bills according to new figures from Moneysupermarket.com.
Read More: The Telegraph – Money Saving Tips
Are credit cards in terminal decline?
Debit cards take over from cash and credit cards as UK payment method of choice
Read More: FT – Banking
Mr Prime Minister, we like our credit cards
If Jonathan Ross or Simon Cowell had told us to stop shopping, that would have been a disaster, writes Tim Harford
Read More: FT – UK Companies
Brits waste £150m on credit card fees
Every year British consumers waste £150 million on late payment credit card charges, Confused.com has revealed.
Research by the price comparison site found one in four (26%) credit card holders have been charged at least once in the last 12 months for missing a late payment.
Nearly one in 11 (8.5%) have been charged three or more times in the same period.
At an average of £12, late payment charges can quickly stack up.
Meanwhile, over half (57%) of credit card holders do not have a direct debit set up to pay off the minimum amount. Confused.com encouraged credit card holders to rectify this.
“Collectively we’re wasting millions of pounds each year on these charges, money which would be better spent elsewhere in these tough financial times,” said Alex Higgs, spokesperson for the price comparison site.
“Setting up a direct debit to make a minimum payment on a credit card is such a simple thing to do, yet well over half of credit card holders haven’t done it,” he added.
“We would encourage anyone without a direct debit set up to get one in place.
“Not only will this save money on charges and help contribute to a healthy credit profile, it will allow money that would have been spent on charges to be used to repay more than the minimum amount, saving more money as interest charges are reduced.”
Read More: Finance Markets – Credit Cards
Best buy . . . by what measure?
‘Best buy’ tables of savings accounts, credit cards and mortgages use different assessments of interest rates and terms
Read More: FT – Banking
How to teach your children about money
Teaching children the value of money can be difficult – especially when they will have to deal with the complexities of credit cards, mobile phone contracts and credit reference agencies when they leave home.
Read More: The Telegraph – Money Saving Tips
HSBC offloads US credit card division in $32.7bn deal
Banking giant HSBC has today announced it has disposed of its US credit card division to Capital One Financial, as part of a global strategic cost-cutting exercise. The announcement comes shortly after the bank said it would slash its underperforming US branch network by half and also announced it would axe 30,000 jobs globally in [...]
Read More: Finance Markets – Credit Cards
Turned down for credit – for being too good
Individuals with “perfect” credit scores turned down for credit cards without being told why
Read More: FT – Banking
Loyal customers receive tailored rates
Providers of loans, credit cards, mortgages and savings products are increasingly setting different rates for the same products
Read More: FT – Insurance
Credit card rates soar
Interest rates on credit cards are at their highest level for 13 years, according to research from Moneyfacts
Read More: FT – Banking
