Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A new trade body representing over 300 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services has launched. The finance and banking industry operating in the UK will be represented by a new trade association, UK Finance. The association’s members offer a wide range of financial and advisory services across both mutual and…
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European Card Fraud for 19 Countries hit a record €1.8 billion in 2016. Fico has launched an interactive map with Euromonitor International shows that the UK had highest card fraud losses in 19 countries surveyed. Report highlights include: Total card fraud losses for 19 European countries studied reached nearly €1.8 billion UK card fraud rose…
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The Bank of England has announced that it will force banks to find a further £11.4 billion in the next 18 months to beef up their finances against the risk of bad loans. Banks will have to set aside £5.7bn in the next six months in case future economic shocks mean some borrowers cannot keep…
Read moreThe British Bankers Association (BBA) latest data from the high street banks shows that consumer credit growth was 5.1% in May, compared with 6.4% in the previous month. Gross mortgage borrowing totalled £13.3 billion in May. Net mortgage borrowing was 2.4% higher than a year ago. Eric Leenders, BBA Managing Director for Retail Banking said: “This…
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The number of purchases using debit and credit cards has more than doubled in the past 10 years, as contactless payments and online retail have driven a change in the way consumers pay, according to a report from The UK Cards Association. Debit and credit cards were used to make 16.4 billion purchases in 2016,…
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More than half of Scots (51%) say they occasionally run out of money before payday, with 15% saying they do so ‘most of the time’ or ‘always. The figures are part of a new report by Citizens Advice Scotland which aims to take a snapshot of the financial realities facing Scots in 2017, and in particular,…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for June 2017: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.532 trillion at the end of April 2017. This is up from £1.485 trillion at the end of April 2016 – an extra £886.84 per UK adult Per adult in the UK…
Read moreA new guide that helps finance providers identify and support customers in vulnerable situations during the credit application process is being launched today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) and The UK Cards Association. Developed by the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC), in partnership with both Associations, Vulnerability: a guide for…
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Debt charity Christians Against Poverty has discovered that household bills and costs have tripled in the past ten years. A decade ago, the average client owed £1,412 in priority arrears, a figure representing just nine per cent of that person’s whole debt problem. In 2016, it had ballooned to £4,582, nearly a third (32%) of…
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The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has published it’s annual Complaints report which indicates a continued rise in complaints about payday loan companies. FOS said there were 10,529 complaints about payday loan companies in 2016/17. This is more than a three-fold increase since the 3,216 complaints in 2015/16. Complaints about consumer credit rose by 89%. 25,984 complaints…
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UK household spending has fallen for the first time since 2013. Kevin Jenkins, UK & Ireland Managing Director at Visa said “Consumer spending fell for the first time in nearly four years in May, following some marked slowdowns in growth since the beginning of the year. Our Index clearly shows that with rising prices and stalling…
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New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell by 2% in April, compared with the same month last year. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 3% compared with April 2016, while retail store and online credit new business fell by 4%.…
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The importance of addressing the priority digital collections needs within your business “New and improved” technology is touted as the solution to the collection industry’s growing complexity. But just as endless “improvements” overhyped in grocery products lead to consumer distrust, technology-solution claims deserve a similar sceptical reaction. Consumers and collectors alike would benefit from taking…
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