Contactless spending hits £23.23 billion

4th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance has published the latest contactless usage figures as contactless technology hits its 10th anniversary. The first contactless cards in the UK were launched in September 2007, with 111 million in issue in June 2017. During the first half of this year, the amount spent using contactless technology (£23.23 billion) almost matched the amount…

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Rise in consumer borrowing slowing

31st August 2017 Consumer Collections |

The growth in borrowing by consumers appears to be slowing amid a squeeze on households according to the Bank of England’s latest consumer statistics. The annual rate of growth for consumer borrowing through credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans decreased to 9.8% in July, the lowest rate of expansion since April 2016. The growth rate…

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Citizen Advice calls for ban of unsolicited credit card limit increase

30th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

Research by Citizens Advice has found that nearly 1 in 5 people struggling with debts have had their credit card limit raised without them requesting it, a practice the charity would like to see banned. After the Bank of England issued a warning to lenders about how they are granting credit to consumers, Citizens Advice…

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Savings and credit cards fund back-to-school costs

23rd August 2017 Consumer Collections |

With the start of the new school year fast approaching, an annual survey shows how parents will be spending £1.48 billion getting the UK’s 8.5 million children ready for the start of term – equating to £174.31 per child to purchase items such as jumpers, blazers, ties, shoes and sports kit. Research by Nationwide in a…

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Identity Fraud escalates to new levels

23rd August 2017 Consumer Collections |

Fraud prevention service, Cifas has released new figures showing that identity fraud has continued to rise at record levels in the first six months of 2017.  A record 89,000 identity frauds were recorded, up 5% from last year. Representing over half of all fraud recorded by the UK’s not-for-profit fraud data sharing organisation, 83% of…

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Nearly 50% of consumers use credit when stung unexpected costs

21st August 2017 Consumer Collections |

A high number of British adults have found themselves unprepared for unexpected costs and have had to rely on friends, family or even credit to pay for them in the past 12 months, according to new research. The survey of 1,035 UK adults carried out by home heating oil supplier, SuperSaverOil.com, found that almost half…

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Consumer finance grows by 7% in June

17th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show growth of 7% in consumer finance new business in June, compared with the same month last year, and growth of 4% in the second quarter of 2017 overall. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 10% compared with June 2016, while…

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FOS Consumer Credit complaints rise in Q2

16th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

Complaints about consumer credit including payday loans and hire purchase showed a rise in the second quarter according to latest statistics released by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Consumer credit complaints totalled 7,281 in the three months to June 30, up from 5,846 in the same period last year. Payday loans, which provide short-term credit at…

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Zoot and Credit Kudos announce partnership

16th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

Credit decisioning specialist Zoot,  has announced a partnership with credit scorecards specialist Credit Kudos. The combination will enable lenders to easily incorporate account transaction data into their existing risk process, leveraging Credit Kudos’ pre-configured risk models through Zoot’s cloud-based platform integrating data and scoring to create a seamless application process. Adam Jackson, Zoot’s Managing Director…

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Cash payments decrease by 11% in 2016

14th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

The number of cash payments decreased by 11% between 2015 and 2016, but it remains the most frequently used payment method in the UK, according to new data published today by UK Finance. Consumers and businesses made 15.4 billion cash payments in 2016 – down from 17.2 billion in 2015 (a decrease of 11%). However…

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Irish Credit and Debit Card Statistics – Quarter 2 2017

11th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Central Bank of Ireland has released Ireland’s Credit and Debit Card Statistics for Q2 2017. Here is an overview of the main findings. Debit card Point of Sale (PoS) transactions, at €2.9 billion in June 2017, were 16 per cent higher than the same month in 2016. Credit card PoS spending was 5 per cent higher than…

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July consumer spending rises by 3.5% – Barclaycard

11th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

Data from Barclaycard has revealed that consumer spending has risen by 3.5%. The data shows that consumers received some respite from a continued drop in petrol prices, which have fallen from an average of 120p per litre at the start of the year to 113p last month. As a result, expenditure on the forecourt increased…

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Card payments show largest growth in nine years

10th August 2017 Consumer Collections |

The UK Finance has released its latest car expenditure statistics for June 2017. Highlights from the statistics include: Total card spending reached £57.1 billion in June, up by 0.3% on May and 7% on June 2016. There were just under 1.4 billion card payments in June, a monthly record and a 12% rise in the…

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