UK’s credit card debt down

According to official figures released by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), while Brits are paying of their credit card debt quicker than ever before, overall individual borrowing levels continues to increase.

During January the total amount of money owed to credit card lenders fell by as much as £496 million, a figure more than £150 million higher than December, the BBA revealed.

“We can see that the January sales did not encourage borrowing on credit cards,” said David Dooks, BBA director of statistics.

“As in the second half of last year, card borrowing is contracting and, with weaker retail sales being reported, this reflects the consumer’s current attitude to spending and their commitments,” he added.

In related news, the Office of Fair Trading this week called for increased transparency with regards banking charges in the interest of consumer fairness.