More than
half of credit card customers pay zero interest, Fairinvestment.co.uk
has found
Released
on: March 20, 2008, 7:40 am
Press
Release Author: Fair
Investment Company
Industry:
Financial
Press
Release Summary: According to new research from Fairinvestment.co.uk,
more than half of credit card customers pay off their credit card
balance in full each month, thereby paying zero interest
Press
Release Body: More than half of credit card customers pay off their
credit card balance in full each month, thereby reaping the benefits
of paying by credit card whilst avoiding paying any interest, according
to new research from Fairinvestment.co.uk.
Savvy
credit
card customers who take what they can get from their flexible
friend account for 60 per cent of the credit card market, reaping
such benefits as airmiles, cashback, donations to charity, and added
security when buying online, but do not incur any interest because
they pay off their entire balance each month.
"With
the encroaching credit crunch being felt by consumers through the
price of credit and the bills that come through their front door,
it is uplifting to see that more than half of credit card customers
can still afford to clear their balance each month and are not relying
on their credit card for day-to-day essentials, getting further
and further into debt." said James Caldwell, director
at Fairinvestment.co.uk.
The
survey also found that 14 per cent pay off their balance with irregular
lump sums as and when they come about, making for an unsteady financial
footing, but they are not struggling as much as the seven per cent
which only pay off the minimum monthly amount, or, worse still,
the 13 per cent of consumers which ignore their credit card debt
altogether in the hopes that it will disappear.
Seven
per cent of respondents said that they look to balance transfers
as a method of managing their credit card debt; this option has
the potential to become more popular in the coming months, as a
result of the re-emergence of the fee-free credit, which allows
customers to transfer their balances for free, but often will not
offer such attractive interest-free periods.
Interestingly,
no respondents to the survey said that they have turned to a consolidation
loan to manage their credit card debt.
Mr
Caldwell commented, "The fact that we had no respondents
who said that they took out a personal loan to pay off their credit
card balance is a strong indication that the credit crunch is having
an affect on the availability of credit to consumers, just as it
is for people trying to get a mortgage
deal".
He
continued, "Borrowing has become increasingly difficult
under the dark cloud of the global credit crunch, with rates going
up and lending criteria becoming tighter. If the 13 per cent of
people that ignore their credit card bills in the hope that the
debt will just go away, instead consider ways of paying at least
the minimum amount as soon as possible, such as cutting down on
other expenditures, they could avoid incurring charges for missing
payments and damaging their credit rating in the process."
Ends
About
Fair Investment
Fairinvestment.co.uk, is an independent online
finance portal, providing comparison tools, news, reviews and information
on a wide range of financial products and services, including insurance,
credit cards, mortgages, loans, savings and investments.
Fair
Investment Company is a leading internet player that sees
400,000 unique users per month, sells over £5 billion worth
of mortgage enquiries and is a Hitwise 100
Banks and Financial Institutions site.
Web
Site: http://www.fairinvestment.co.uk/
Contact
Details: For further information, contact:
Rachael Stiles
Senior Staff Writer
Fair Investment Company
Media Centre
20 The Mall
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 4DR
Tel: 0117 9335507
Fax: 0117 9335509
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