Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A new report from Lloyds Merchant Services has found that consumers are increasingly looking for payment flexibility. 61% of adopters say they are more likely to shop with a retailer offering Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), rising to 63% for point-of-sale (POS) finance. Half (50%) are comfortable using BNPL for mid-ticket purchases between £100 and…
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Confidence in the UK’s ability to regulate fraud has collapsed to a historic low as the payments industry grapples with an explosion in AI-powered attacks, according to a comprehensive three-year analysis revealing the steepest decline in regulatory trust on record. according to analysis by The Payments Association. The research reveals a significant decline in confidence in…
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Consumer confidence in the UK economy fell during the last quarter, reaching the lowest point so far this year, according to KPMG’s latest Consumer Pulse survey. KPMG’s poll of 3000 UK consumers saw the number of people feeling that the economy is worsening increase from 51% to 62% in the last three months – and…
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New research by UK Finance has found that more people are now using digital payments, with rising use of in-app purchases, digital wallets, and Buy Now Pay Later for shopping. At the same time, cash payments have again fallen. These trends indicate that people are increasingly opting for digital payment options, a trend that is…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced new proposals that would enable contactless card payments to exceed £100 and potentially become unlimited under new proposals to allow banks and other providers to set limits. The regulator says that it wants to give card providers the flexibility to decide the right limit for themselves and their…
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New research from Creditspring has found that over half (53%) of people report increased spending during summer, more than at any other time of year, Based on the UK population of 69.5 million, this equates to approximately 36.8 million people increasing their spending in the summer months. That figure is even higher among younger adults,…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that stricter regulations for electronic payment firms will come into force in May 2026. The new rules say companies must separate customer funds from their own, ensuring refunds in case of firm failures. The City watchdog says firms will face annual audits by qualified auditors, monthly reporting, and daily…
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In the first six months of a new reimbursement scheme, £66m was returned to victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams, according to the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) Launched in October last year, the new rules mandate banks to reimburse victims unless they were grossly negligent. Consumers reported around 109,000 claims, with 77,000 in scope for…
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Data from Barclays reveals a slight decline in consumer card spending, with a 0.1% fall recorded in June, less than the 1.0 per cent reported in May and below the latest CPIH inflation rate of 4.0 per cent. Confidence in household finances improved six percentage points to 73 per cent – a four-month high. Meanwhile,…
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Lenders said they lifted the availability of household secured credit in the three months to the end of May and expect to do so again over the coming quarter, according to a latest Bank of England survey. The survey found that lenders reported that the availability of both secured and unsecured credit to households increased…
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New research from TransUnion UK has revealed that over eight million people are using Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) for items under £50, whilst 4% put purchases under £25 on this short-term credit. Over a quarter (26%) of people now prefer to use BNPL over credit cards for everyday spending, with 18 to 24-year-olds (20%)…
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New research from The Current Account Switch Service has revealed that one in four (24%) UK adults have less than £250 in their current account. The data also shows a decline in those with higher balances in their current accounts, with a 15% decrease of those with over £2,500 since 2021. A vast majority of…
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Consumers are increasingly using credit to pay for insurance cover and switching to monthly payments for car and home insurance to manage their bills, new research from Premium Credit shows has found. Premium Credit’s Insurance Index, now in its sixth year, found that 76% of insurance customers use some form of credit to pay for…
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