Credit card advice

APACS, the UK payments association, has launched a new website offering credit card advice for consumers.

 

www.choosingandusing.com helps people get to grips with the choices, benefits, potential risks and terminology around using and borrowing money on credit cards.

 

The site aims to offer unbiased information to help people decide which credit cards best suit their needs. 

 

 

Stakeholder Response: APACS

 

 

 

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, says: "The UK has one of the most competitive credit card markets in the world with around 1,500 different cards to choose from, so selecting the right one can be a time-consuming process.

 

"With this in mind, we’ve launched the choosingandusing.com site to provide a handy one-stop-shop for consumers to help them make the best choices about using credit cards."

 

"The UK cards industry is committed to improving consumer understanding of credit cards to encourage responsible borrowing. This goes hand in hand with our members’ commitment to responsible lending."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: Which? 

 

 

 

Laurence Baxter, senior policy advisor at Which?, said: "Which? sees APACS' new choosing and using website as a helpful step, but it doesn't give the credit card industry a license to continue their irresponsible practices of sending unsolicited credit limit increases and credit card cheques, reckless marketing and sales practices, poor product design, and confusing interest calculation methods. 

 

"Better information can help consumers select and use the most appropriate credit for their needs, but it can not be the only response by the credit card industry.

 

"Despite this new website, the irresponsible practices and reckless marketing and selling continues, and these must be sorted out.  

 

"Which? found that credit card providers are using 20 different methods to allocate interest on cards. It is so complicated that the only solution is standardising the method used to allocate interest.

 

"Giving customers more information on how providers work out the interest is not the solution.  

 

"In another example, giving better instructions on how to use credit card cheques may be fine.  But continuing to send the cheques unsolicited puts people is plainly irresponsible.

 

"Which? want to see that industry focus on cleaning up its practices, Only after that happens would the APACS' choosing and using website make a difference."