Today, almost every high street chain provides its customers with the opportunity to benefit from greater discounts through the use of in-store credit cards. In theory, taking out a store card with your preferred department store seems an attractive venture. However, in practice, it is important to note that stores do not always have customers' best interests at heart when devising such market...

The Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) has released a study entitled 'The Way We Pay 2007; UK Plastic Cards', which shows record spending on debit and credit cards in 2006. A total of £321 billion was spent on plastic last year, around one third of total consumer spending in the UK. Cash, automated payment systems su...

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced that it will 'work hard' with credit card providers to make their fees more transparent, after a 'super complaint' from consumer group Which? alleged that companies were being dishonest in the way they advertised their fees to consumers. When advertising their products, most credit card providers...

A report by the Co-operative Bank has revealed that charity credit cards are gaining popularity with socially responsible consumers in the United Kingdom. Charity credit cards operate on the basis that a proportion of the profits generated through their use is donated to charity organization. These credit cards, also known as affi...

In keeping with a growing trend, Barclaycard has issued a new green credit card. Barclays has pledged to donate fifty per cent of the profits generated through the new card, called ‘Breathe’, to charities working to combat climate change. However, many experts have voiced worries and it is questionable as to whether the Barclaycard will benefit consumers’ finances. Critics have accused...