Latest Credit Card News
The latest news on credit cards:
June 27, 2008
According to figures from APACS, the UK payments association, consumers have not been won over by contactless payment cards.
The cards allow consumers to buy small-ticket items on a credit or debit card without actually having to hand any plastic over or enter a pin.
The cards have already been launched in London but Apacs show that just 15,000 transactions were made ...
Consumers not excited about contactless payment cards
by Kay Murchie
May 8, 2008
Barclays is set to axe nearly 1,000 jobs at its Goldfish credit card unit.
Barclays purchased the Goldfish credit card provider from Discover Financial Services back in February for £35 million. At the time, it said the move would create uncertainty for its employees in Scotland.
This has now become a reality for 900 employees in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, as Barclays ...
Barclays axes 1,000 jobs at credit card centre
by Kay Murchie
April 21, 2008
A study by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has established that a growing number of shoppers are using cash to pay for their purchases instead of credit cards.
The BRC said their survey showed a reluctance by people trying to control their finances to spend money they did not have and added that cash was alive and thriving.
The organisation carried out a ...
Shoppers using cash instead of plastic
by Kay Murchie
April 4, 2008
Lenders have been scrapping cheap mortgage offers with internet bank, first direct, announcing earlier this week that it has temporarily withdrawn all its mortgage products as it tries to clear a backlog of customer applications.
Alliance & Leicester and Scottish Widows have both curtailed their product ranges and Northern Rock recently set its new mortgage rates at ...
Tightening of lending criteria means 10,000% interest on credit cards
by Kay Murchie
April 2, 2008
According to a survey by personal finance website Fool.co.uk, Britons are more likely to use their plastic than cash when paying for everyday purchases.
The survey which revealed the nation’s spending habits revealed that 32% use their credit card, debit cards account for 37% of spending while cash accounts for 29%.
The survey established that people are carrying less cash with 47% withdrawing cash ...
Britons prefer plastic to money
by Kay Murchie
March 12, 2008
The chief executive of internet bank Egg has resigned after the company was accused of withdrawing the credit cards belonging to 161,000 customers because they paid their debts in full and so were not profitable.
However, Egg has strongly denied this and claimed that the decision was taken after an extensive credit review following the acquisition by Citigroup last ...
Egg boss quits after credit card withdrawal scandal
by Kay Murchie
March 6, 2008
In spite of concerns about the credit squeeze, research from MoneyExpert.com has established that over 3 million Britons are juggling 5 or more credit cards.
The research discovered that 3.2 million have 5 or more cards with adults between the age of 35 and 44 being the worst offenders.
This age group tend to have young children ...
Over 3 million Britons juggling 5 or more credit cards
by Kay Murchie
February 28, 2008
Internet bank Egg, is refusing to back down after it recently withdrew the credit cards belonging to 161,000 customers.
Following a meeting with Labour MP Nigel Griffiths, a former consumer affairs minister, Egg said there would be no change in policy.
Egg claimed that the customers, who represent 7% of its 2 million credit cardholders, had a 'higher ...
Egg refusing to back down over withdrawal of credit cards
by Kay Murchie
February 24, 2008
Credit card customers with unblemished repayment records are seeing their spending limits cut.
Those affected have said that they were unaware they were having their spending limits slashed.
The move has angered many people with one individual saying he was 'furious' after being left red faced when trying to purchase a rail ticket. Another was 'embarrassed ...
Credit card firms cut spending for those with spotless credit files
by Kay Murchie
February 15, 2008
Credit and debit card spending increased to £91.5 billion, an increase of £4.9 million in the 3 months to last September as a growing number of borrowers used their cards to pay household expenses.
Chris Tapp, of the debt charity, Credit Action, said retail figures were down over Christmas but credit card debt is still on the ...
Record sum spent on credit and debit cards last year
by Kay Murchie
February 12, 2008
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has criticised credit card companies for taking £400 million a year by confusing customers and making their products too complex to compare.
OFT established that 70% of customers do not shop around and could therefore be wasting their money. OFT is recommending that a card comparison website be launched by the Financial Services Authority ...
Credit card companies accused of confusing customers
by Kay Murchie
February 11, 2008
John McFall, the chairman of the treasury select committee, has announced that banks may be cancelling the credit cards of good paying customers and giving them to riskier ones in a bid to boost profits.
Apacs, the trade association for payment services, is denying that banks are making such moves and added they are merely looking at credit levels ...
Banks cancelling credit cards belonging to ’good payers’
by Kay Murchie
OFT investigating Egg complaints
by Kay Murchie
February 8, 2008
Christmas credit card spending was down again for the second consecutive year, according to payments association, APACS.
APACS reported that while 2007 Christmas credit spending rose 4% on the previous year, this growth was driven by debit card spending, which increased by 6.8%.
Credit card spending fell from £11.4 billion in December 2006 to £11.3 billion in December 2007.
Overall spending on plastic cards ...
Festive credit card spending falls again
by Kay Murchie
February 6, 2008
Barclaycard, the global credit card provider, has announced plans to close its card production and statement mailing operation in Northampton. At least 160 jobs are affected.
The work is to be transferred to other companies in Milton Keynes, Gloucestershire, and Leicester. Print production will be outsourced to RR Donnelley in Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire.
Card operations will move to Gemalto in Fareham, Hampshire.
The ...
Job losses at Barclaycard
by Kay Murchie
February 5, 2008
Internet bank, Egg, recently withdrew the credit cards belonging to 161,000 customers whose credit profiles have deteriorated since they signed up.
The move is the first such action taken by a UK credit card issuer and has caused outrage from customers.
Other financial institutions are tightening their lending criteria with HSBC rejecting 50% of all applicants for credit cards and Barclaycard blocking some cash ...
Will lenders follow Egg?
by Kay Murchie
February 4, 2008
Internet bank, Egg, is to withdraw the credit cards belonging to 161,000 customers whose credit profiles have deteriorated since they signed up. This could also include customers who have missed repayments or exceeded their credit limit.
A spokesperson for the bank said those affected were customers it no longer wanted to lend to ‘regardless of their current status’.
Egg, which ...
Egg withdraws credit cards for riskier clients
by Kay Murchie
January 30, 2008
With credit companies charging approximately £12 each time a consumer misses a payment, it is anticipated they have made roughly £61million.
Research from MoneyExpert has established that over 5 million people have missed monthly credit card payments in the last 6 months - a 2% increase on the previous 6 months.
Sean Gardner of MoneyExpert said there are other aspects ...
Credit card firms profit hugely due to missed payments
by Kay Murchie
January 3, 2008
A study by uSwitch backed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has established that interest repayments in Britain have rocketed by £12.7 billion to a record high of £93 billion a year suggesting that millions of Britons could be left unable to manage with the rising cost of their debts.
Sainsbury's Bank is advising consumers to shop around and take ...
Take stock of finances in the new year
by Kay Murchie
December 20, 2007
The European Commission has criticised MasterCard for charging cross-border fees on credit and debit card transactions. It warned that if MasterCard did not remove the fees within 6 months, it will charge fines on a daily basis of up to 3.5% of worldwide turnover.
The fees, known as multilateral interchange fees, apply to both MasterCard credit cards and Maestro debit cards and ...
MasterCard criticised for cross-border fees
by Kay Murchie