The UK Cards Association has today revealed a fall in credit and debit card fraud – partly due to the introduction of chip-and-pin. According to the Association, fraud losses on UK credit and debit cards totalled £440.3 million in 2009 – a fall of 28% compared with 2008 and the first annual decline since 2006. [...]
The Federal Reserve has announced borrowing by American consumers grew for the first time in a year in January. According to the central bank, consumer credit rose 2.4% or $5 billion (£3.3 billion) compared with the previous month to a total of $2.45 trillion. It was the first increase after a record 11 months of [...]
Dr Ros Altmann, a former Downing Street pensions adviser, believes there should be an inquiry into the profit margins of credit card companies. Dr Altmann, who is a former academic and independent expert on pensions policy and retirement, believes there might be a case for a regulator to oversee the rates they charge. Last week, [...]
The UK credit card industry has agreed to Government proposals to help credit card holders manage their debt. As part of a crackdown on credit card companies, the Government recently warned credit and store card firms to “clean up their act.” One of the main issues was for credit card companies to stop increasing interest [...]
Consumers should forget about being loyal to their credit card provider because those who shop around will save money, a financial expert has claimed. “If you have a good credit rating you’re much better off not being loyal to anyone, because of all the introductory offers around,” said David Black of Defaqto. Customers who frequently [...]
Despite the fact that interest rates have been on hold at the historically low rate of 0.5% since March 2009, the average credit card interest rate rose from 15.89% to 16.28% in December, according to figures from the Bank of England. The bank also revealed that the average credit card interest rate is now at [...]
The Santander Zero was recognised as one of Europe’s best credit cards at an awards ceremony in Paris this week. The Osgards, now in their fourth year, are awarded annually to the top credit card providers in Europe. Santander’s Zero credit card won first prize in the service category of the awards. It was one [...]
As part of a crackdown on credit card companies, the Government is warning credit and store card firms to “clean up their act.” The latest proposals follow other restrictions on credit card practices introduced earlier this year after a credit card summit organised by the Government last November saw card companies agree to a set [...]
Millions of Brits have stashed away unused credit cards as a financial safety net, new research has discovered. A poll by uSwitch.com found 16 million credit card holders with unused cards. These consumers hold an average of 2.3 unused credit cards, and together they could access £200 billion of credit. With unemployment above two million, [...]
Internet bank Egg has launched a new credit card paying 1% cashback. The Egg Money World MasterCard has a £1 per month fee, and charges 16.9% interest on purchases and 8.9% on balance transfers. Items costing over £75 are protected against theft, loss or damage for 90 days after the day of purchase. Electrical items [...]
BT customers can now save an unlimited amount of money on their broadband and telephone bills by spending money on their BT credit card. BT will deduct one pence from a customer’s monthly phone bill for every £1.50 spent on their credit card, the telecoms operator said this week. Customers spending £1,000 per month on [...]
Abbey yesterday relaunched its Zero credit card, providing fee-free currency exchange and cash advances. The card is the only one currently available that offers these services for no fee. In addition, the Abbey Zero offers 0% interest on balance transfers for 12 months, and on purchases for three months. Roger Lovering, managing director of Abbey [...]
Two major credit card providers have ramped up charges for cash withdrawals, uSwitch.com revealed this week. Egg card holders will now be charged a minimum of £5 for making a cash withdrawal using their credit card, a 67% increase from the previous minimum charge of £3. Egg said it decided on the increase because using [...]
Saga has reduced the APR on its Platinum credit card to 11.9% for both new and existing customers. The over-50s financial provider reduced its rate from 15.9% at a time when many other credit card providers are increasing APR. New customers taking out the Platinum card also benefit from 0% on balance transfers and purchases [...]
International travellers are best to opt for the Post Office Platinum credit card, according to research by moneysupermarket.com. Debit card holders, meanwhile, are advised to choose the Nationwide FlexAccount. The price comparison website said the Post Office’s card offers free purchase protection, no overseas charges, and zero percent on purchases for three months. “This is [...]
Nokia has made a huge investment in a California-based start-up with the focus on making the mobile phone a viable alternative to the credit card. Nokia have invested in Obopay Inc, although there was no disclosure of the amount of the investment or whether Nokia’s head of corporate business development, Teppo Paavolo, will get a [...]
According to the latest data published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) cash is being used by UK consumers in 56 percent of all transactions and it seen as the most popular form of payment as well as being the most cost effective for retailers. Despite the continued impression that banks have created, the BRC’s [...]
UK payment services organisation, APACS, has published a round-up of fraud losses during 2008. Card fraud losses total £609.9 million, online banking fraud £52.5 million and cheque fraud losses amounted to £41.9 million. In the case of card fraud, the two main areas of criminal activity involved transactions not protected by chip and PIN (specifically [...]
Credit card providers may be prevented from making unsolicited increases to spending limits on their customers’ accounts. In efforts to curb the mountain of personal debt in the UK, the Government is proposing new legislation that will end the practice of providers making ad hoc increases in credit limits. Speaking to the BBC, consumer Affairs [...]
Abbey launched a new ‘market leading’ credit card this week. The reissued Abbey Credit Card now offers 0% interest on balance transfers for 15 months and on purchases for three months. Interest after the introductory period rises to 15.9% APR. Abbey said it decided to release the card as a way of helping people better [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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