Credit card holders look to consolidate

by Gill Montia

Story link: Credit card holders look to consolidate

Abbey, part of the Santander group, has published new research on the credit card habits of UK adults, which shows a growing awareness of the benefits and pitfalls of credit card use.

The majority of British consumers have an average of two credit cards but 22% hold three or more.

The average credit card customer holds cards they have not used in 12 months and the majority of people in this group are considering disposing of their unused cards.

Currently, 7.7 million credit card holders are planning to reduce the number of cards they use and consolidate balances onto a single credit card account.

Respondents named cashback as the most popular feature, with 20% of card users valuing the facility above all else.

Sixteen per cent of those questions opted for a low annual percentage rate as the most important element of a credit card agreement.

According to Roger Lovering, managing director of Santander Cards, ” people are becoming more and more savvy about the impact numerous cards have on their credit rating, and a significant number of cardholders are now looking to consolidate all their credit cards.”

Latest data from Credit Action, the debt awareness charity, estimates that 24.5 million credit card transactions are made on a daily basis, with the total value of these transactions in the region of £1.4 billion.