Written by Oliver Laker on December 30, 2011.
TransUnion recently took a look at credit card delinquency trends and put forth some predictions for the coming year.
According to the report, credit card delinquency rates (counted as those more than 90 days late on a credit card payment) – which reached their lowest levels in 17 years earlier in the second quarter (Q2) of 2011 – are expected to stay at low levels in 2012.
“Credit card delinquencies are expected to remain fairly steady in 2012 ranging between 0.69% and 0.76% — levels far below those typically observed in the last 15 years,” Steve Chaouki, group vice president in TransUnion’s financial services business unit, said in a statement.
More specifically, TransUnion forecasts credit card delinquency rates to drop about 7 percent in the coming year – from 0.74 percent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2011 to 0.69 percent in Q4 2012.
“In today’s uncertain economy, consumers have found that credit cards are among their most valued assets due to the flexibility they provide,” Chaouki said. “As a result, consu
Read Full Text…
Written by Tim Peak on December 18, 2011.
How many credit cards do you have? How much money do you owe on each card? Around twenty three people in one hundred have more than one credit card, and having more than one credit card means more than one balance. We are spending unnecessarily when we have numerous cards; think of all that interest that you are forking out on. What is even more incredulous is that ten percent of people don’t know how much money they actually owe.
Our frivolous spending is costing us dear, literally. More people seem to be more concerned about how much credit limit they have. If you had to add up everything you owe would you be taken aback at how much that figure would be? You would most probably do so.
What about the interest we pay on our credit? As you know interest rates vary enormously. C
Read Full Text…
Written by Tim Peak on November 10, 2011.
Today over £1 trillion of credit card transactions are processed through over 20 million outlets worldwide each year! But, how does the system work – how is a credit card transaction processed?
Generally, in order for you to be able to process a credit card transaction, you need to find an outlet that is willing to accept the type of credit card you have. Usually this can be easily determined because the outlet will display the symbol of your credit card, e.g. the Visa or MasterCard symbol. On you have established that the outlet will accept your credit card, you then
(a) provide the outlet with you card and the card is processed through a swipe system and your card will then be charged the amount of the purchase, or (b) enter your Personal Identification Number (PIN), which will then charge the purchase to your credit card account.
Some things to consider when using the credit card system
Before you start to use the credit card system, it is essential that you understand:
* that the credit card debt is unsecured, i.e. yo
Read Full Text…
Written by Oliver Laker on November 6, 2011.
Credit card companies are getting smarter—and this possibly means more confusing. They know that the modern consumer is getting smarter and is casting a much more critical eye toward the credit card offers they receive in the mail.
No longer bowled over by the simple fact that they can get credit, and maybe even put their picture on the credit card, consumers need something additional to sweeten the deal.
In the interest of getting more credit card customers, credit card companies have turned to offering rewards for spending as the newest form of consumer bait. But not every reward credit card is a good deal. <
Read Full Text…
Written by Blake Teen on October 26, 2011.
MUMBAI: Barclays India, which has put its credit cards business on the block, is yet to find any taker, even though the bank has offered a huge discount, according to bankers who were approached for the sale.
The UK-headquartered bank, which is now scaling down its retail business in India after a pile-up of bad loans disbursed over three years ago before the slowdown in the economy, has also been restructuring its small and medium enterprises business. “Barclays’ card business is being offered at a huge discount but there are no takers in the market,” said the chief executive officer of a private sector bank who was offered the portfolio. A Barclays spokesperson in an email statement to ET said, as a global bank it keeps all its businesses under strategic review.
“We are reviewing options for cards, a business which requires scale and which may be able to achieve that scale under a new ownership,” a spokesperson said.
According to banking industry estimates, Barclays has a card base of about 2.5 million.
Read Full Text…