Credit card fraud increases

The flexibility and ease that credit cards provide have made them hugely popular amongst consumers in the UK, and many people now have one or more credit cards, which they use for making purchases on the High Street, by phone, and online. However, whilst these cards do offer the ultimate in freedom and flexibility they can also pose a danger if users are not vigilant.

Credit card users are being warned that they need to be more vigilant when using their credit cards and with their credit card information. This is because figures have shown that the level of credit card fraud has increased, with 6.4 percent of plastic cardholder falling victim to fraud in the past twelve months compared to 4.7 percent in the previous year.

The figures were released as part of the British Crime Survey, and the rising level of card fraud has made many people concerned about falling victim to this type of activity. In a survey 53 percent of cardholders said that they were concerned about becoming a victim of plastic card fraud.

With fraudsters now using a range of sophisticated methods to conduct this type of criminal activity, cardholders are being urged to be extra vigilant when using their credit and debit cards. It is also advisable for cardholders to check their statements carefully and also check copies of their credit reports in order to look out or any suspicious transactions.

One credit card holder stated: “I used to do a lot of shopping online with my credit card, and I’ve never been a victim of fraud. However, these days I often think twice about shopping in this way because the level of card crime in the UK really worries me. I think it is vital that shoppers are really careful when they use their cards.”

Tags: plastic, cards, credit card holder, fraud, Visa Inc., Credit Cards, flexibility, range

Cards set to replace cash transactions

According to recent reports less than half of all transactions will be made by cash in five years’ time. A report from the UK Payments Council has suggested that at the moment 80 percent of cash transactions were low value transactions that were for less than £10. The Payments Council said that cash was taking over as the main method of payment for transactions, whereas cash and cheque use had fallen into decline.

In years gone by those making purchases used cash and cheques to make payments, with only a small percentage having access to or wishing to use plastic cards. However, over the past decade this has changed, with a rising number of people having access to plastic cards and many preferring the convenience and ease of paying by card.

In addition to this the use of cheques has really declined over recent years, and many retailers have stopped accepting cheque payments altogether. In fact, the banking industry has confirmed that it is planning to phase out cheques altogether over the next eight years, but this is something that is being opposed by many pensioners who have become accustomed to using cheques.

Based on trends over the past few years the UK payments Council developed a report with predictions relating to how consumers will be spending in the future. The report predicts that by 2018 only one in every fifty workers will be paid in cash, whereas in 1999 this figure stood at one in eight.

An official from the Payments Council said: “Although cash will not disappear in our lifetime, the continuing payments revolution will make it an ever smaller part of our spending. The noughties have been the decade of the debit card. Especially since chip and pin, which has speeded up transactions, it has become socially acceptable to buy small items by card now too, for example in a sandwich shop or a pub.”

Tags: cards, cheque, Banking, finance, plastic

Store card customers to be penalised for being in credit

These days more and more people are wary of spending too much on credit, and this is why so many people have decided to cut back on spending on their credit and debit cards, which is a sensible decision given the mounting levels of personal debt in the UK. Read more

Tags: plastic, house of fraser, debts, Credit Cards, GBP, mothercare, end, store cards

Credit crunch makes it ‘harder’ for UK consumers to get cards at low-rates

UK consumers are “finding it harder” to get credit cards with low rates of interest due to the credit crunch, one financial expert has claimed.

Credit Action said that credit is not as widely available as it was 12 months ago and in those places where credit can be found, it is often more expensive.

Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said: “So credit cards and all kinds of credit have become a less widely available and a more expensive option for borrowing than they were in the recent past.”

However, he added that the popularity of credit cards is still enduring and they are not about to go away as they are now a “very normalised part” of the way that people manage and borrow their money.

Recent research from MoneyExpert.com released at the beginning of the month shows that 3.2 million of us own five or more credit cards and 28 per cent of us applied for more plastic last year.

The news comes despite mounting concern about debt problems as the credit crunch hits home.

Tags: normalised part, plastic, credit crunch, Credit score, crunch, past, borrowing, director of Credit Action

Financial regulators are ’sleeping on the job’

A debt charity in the UK has accused financial regulators of being ‘asleep on the job’ stating that many consumers in the UK are being pushed into soaring levels of debt by irresponsible lender but that regulators are failing to take the necessary action.

According to officials from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, which deals with many debt related issues, there have been over 1.7 million debt related issues to be dealt with by the bureau over the past year, which reflects a rise of 20% on the previous year.

Officials state that although the CAB is doing all that it can to help consumers deal with their debt related issues, it is up to financial regulators to try and tackle irresponsible lending in order to tackle soaring debt levels. The charity is currently embarking upon a conference to help consumers to deal more effectively with money issues, and this problem has been highlighted as part of the conference.

One CAB official stated: “Time and time again, we come across people in desperate straits who need not be there if the firm who lent them money had acted responsibly on day one. And while some regulators have taken action on scandals like the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, others seem to be asleep on the job.”

The Cab says that rising debt is one of the major issues facing the economy and that action must be taken by the financial services industry to combat the problem.

According to recent data spending on plastic has rocketed by nearly 50% since 2002, and in 2006 Brits spent around £511 billion on credit, debit, and store cards. However, figures from the Bank of England show that there has been a steady decline in the amount owed on credit cards since the start of 2006.

Alan Wright
14th November 2007

Tags: cards, plastic, finance, debt, credit

Holidaymakers pay extra in credit card fees

British holidaymakers will pay up to £258 million in fees over the summer as their credit card companies charge them for making transactions abroad, a new study has found.

According to the report from the Post Office, Britons will collectively spend around £9.4 billion, though many are unaware that they will incur extra costs for borrowing while overseas.

Of those people questioned, nearly half said that they had no idea that such extra charges would apply, while 37 per cent believed that their lender did not levy an additional fee, despite research showing that the vast majority of firms charge on average 2.75 per cent per transaction made.

In addition, 26 per cent of people admitted to failing to budget for their holidays before they went away, meaning that they left themselves vulnerable to having to borrow and get into debt.
“We are now four times more likely to spend on plastic abroad than 10 years ago,” said the PO’s Gary Fitton.
“It’s shocking not only to see how much people are being penalised to use their cards on holiday, but how few are aware of this.”
The findings come soon after the UK payments association Apacs revealed that fraud committed abroad on UK-issued cards totaled £118.2 million last year, an increase of £36 million.

Tags: apacs, fee, idea, United Kingdom, plastic, summer, london