Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest Bank of England (BOE) data shows that borrowing declined in January, with borrowing using credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts totalling around £600m compared to £800m in December. This was split between £100m of additional borrowing on credit cards, and £500m in borrowing in other forms of consumer credit (such as car dealership finance…
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Latest data from the National Fraud Hunter Prevention Service, analysed by Experian, found the detected fraud rate for cards rose by 42% between October and December 2021, when compared to the previous quarter, the highest rate since 2017. Typically, an increase in fraudulent activity is detected over the festive shopping period, but 2021 proved especially…
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Rules introduced in 2014 by the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) to restrict the amount mortgage applicants could borrow may be reversed following a review by the Bank of England (BoE). Since 2014, Banks have had a limit on the number of mortgages they can offer where someone is borrowing more than 4.5 times their salary.…
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Global information and insights company TransUnion has announced that it has partnered with CreditLadder, the rent reporting platform, to incorporate UK tenants’ rental payments into their credit information. Rental payment history of those individuals using CreditLadder can now be recorded in their TransUnion credit report, giving finance providers a more holistic view of financial standing…
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New analysis from Experian finds that comparison searches for loans have doubled over the last year, while consumer research reveals that almost one in five consumers (18%) intend to, or already have, borrowed money in 2022. When comparing this January with the same month in 2021, loan searches increased by 101%, while loan applications increased…
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A new survey from UK fintech Pave shows the vast majority of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) customers are unclear about the impact of BNPL on their credit scores, leading to the majority of customers to say they were worried about its impact. The research found that 78% of respondents (18-44) who have used Buy…
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Global information and insights provider TransUnion has announced it is set to accept Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) finance into UK consumer credit files, becoming the first credit reference agency in the UK to do so. Following extensive research and product innovation, buy now, pay later finance – also known as deferred payment credit –…
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Latest data from Fico has indicated that spending and credit card balances increased over the Christmas period. The average active balance continued its strong upward trend at £1,550 in December, although it will take several more months of continuous growth to reach the £1,719 average seen in December 2019. The percentage of payments to balance…
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Data collected by Barclaycard reveals that growth in spending on debit and credit cards slowed in January as Plan B restrictions kept consumers at home. The analysis showed that spending increased by 7.4% in January compared with pre-pandemic levels in January 2020, the lowest level of growth since April 2021. Fuel spending rose by 6.7%,…
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More than 5 million adults are unnecessarily financially excluded, meaning they could potentially struggle to access affordable and fair financial services and the most affordable home energy and broadband deals, according to research conducted by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The report found that 1 in 7 adults in the UK (c.7.1 million people) fall into the…
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Global banking, payments and shopping service, Klarna has announced the launch of Klarna Card in the UK, which it says will give consumers with greater control, transparency and choice over how they pay. The new physical card will bring Klarna’s flexible and transparent payments experience to in-store payments anywhere where cards are accepted. The launch…
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Retail debit card spending soared 27% in the first two weeks of January compared to 2020, months before the pandemic hit, according to latest data from Lloyds Bank. The research found that 42% more was spent at restaurants and bars, whilst high-street stores, such as clothing outlets (34%), electrical goods stores (27%) and department stores…
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Older homeowners released a record £4.4 billion in property wealth last year at a rate of more than £12 million a day as customers helped family and secured their own finances by repaying debt or remortgaging existing borrowing, data from the UK’s leading equity release adviser Key shows. Around one in five equity release plans (19%) taken…
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