UK consumers struggle to remember pin codes

Research from high street bank Abbey has today revealed that consumers have trouble remembering their pin codes.

Fully 39 per cent of those polled by the card provider said that they write down their numbers so as not to forget them – although a big majority of this group disguised them in some way.

Making records of pin codes makes credit card fraud far more likely, as does making all cards carry the same code, as admitted to by 14 per cent of respondents.

Around 55 per cent admitted to having forgotten a number, with card holders increasingly owning more than one piece of plastic.

The survey found that six million Britons hold three cards, around three million hold four, and two million hold five cards or more.

Steve Shore, head of banking at Abbey, said that with many consumers holding multiple cards, “the challenge of remembering all those PIN codes is getting greater.

“But we really do urge you to try and commit them to memory rather than write them down. Otherwise it’s like signing a blank cheque for fraudsters.”

Tags: card holders, cent, piece, card, head of banking, Credit Cards, Payment systems, way

Expect annual fees on your credit card

The next decade is likely to herald a new era for credit cards, where users are charged simply for having them.

Financial research company Defaqto predicts that annual charges will become the norm in the next ten years as credit card companies and banks look to rebuild their profits following the capping of penalty fees.

The likes of Lloyds TSB and Barclaycard have already or are considering introducing charges of this sort and it seems that more firms will follow suit.

“Reports that Barclaycard is considering an annual fee is not a surprise and my expectation in the years ahead is that there will be a gradual move towards annual fees in the credit card market,” said David Black, head of banking at Defaqto.

“However this will herald a significant contraction in market size as people who clear their outstanding credit card balances on a monthly basis will, as they start facing annual fees, jettison credit cards in favour of using debit cards instead.”

If, as Defaqto predicts, fewer people use credit cards, it may be that those who do hold one will be hit even harder by annual fees as the providers charge more to cover the losses.

However, a mass exodus from credit card use may also work in the public’s favour as competition hots up and more favourable deals are introduced.

Tags: move towards, banks, credit, losses, profits, jettison credit cards, head of banking, significant contraction