Credit card news – September 2006

September 5, 2006

By Peter Kenny

News bells continued to do rounds of the fast-paced credit card industry of the UK. While some usage trends pressed the panic button, the authorities were meanwhile busy issuing alerts and declarations. All along, the UK credit card consumer continues to meander through, setting his own trends and standards; to the ultimate muse of the regulating authorities and industry watchdogs.

We give you a take on what was the latest, what touched and what passed by, and what all took this wonderful industry by a storm in the month of August.

The credit card industry of UK lived up to it notoriety this month with a yet another startling report narrating episodes of fraud. A research conducted by the Sainsbury bank revealed that fraud at cash machines increased by a whopping 260 percent between 2000 and 2005. The conclusions indicate that a shocking ₤21.4 million was obtained illegally at ATMS just within the first three months of 2006.

Adding on to the string of fraudsters menace, reports shockingly revealed that a scary three million online banking customers at HSBC have been left exposed to online fraud for atleast two years. Labeled as ‘scandalous’ by one analyst, the security lapse could have enabled a fraudster to gain access to an account just within nine attempts, leaving the banker very vulnerable to theft. Reports also reveal that put together, as many as six million Brits fall victim to ID fraud over a year.

Moving on, even as reports of booming credits and spiraling usage figures made headlines, it was quite a revelation that a huge number of Britons have been carrying around unused credit cards. A report from Morgan Stanley states that almost half of all consumers in the UK are holding credit cards that have not been used in the past 12 months.

Interestingly, research also indicates that the expired cards with an introductory zero percent interest are the most likely to lie unused. On the other hand, millions of cardholders have been taking advantage of loyalty schemes for their everyday spending, thus to their benefit.

Continue to Part 2

Credit card news – September 2006 Part 1
Credit card news – September 2006 Part 2
Credit card news – September 2006 Part 3