Brits needlessly paying out hundreds in credit card interest

Britons are needlessly paying out more than £9 billion pounds in credit card interest each year, new research by Abbey Credit Cards has revealed.

The research found that more than two-thirds of Britons (69 per cent) have at least one credit card, with the average credit card debt standing at £3,256. Those aged over 55 are most likely to own a credit card (77 per cent), compared to 71 per cent of those aged between 35 and 54, and 58 per cent of those aged between 18 and 34.

While a virtuous 36 per cent of credit card holders have no existing debt or pay off their balance in full each month, more than 40 per cent of people have held their credit card debt for over a year and more than one in five (22 per cent) for over four years.

Men have more credit card debt (£3,627) on average than women (£2,778), while Londoners have the highest level of card debt (£3,649) and those in the Midlands the least (£2,503).

Despite the high levels of credit card debt in the UK, however, more than half (55 per cent) of card holders haven't moved any of their existing debt to a 0 per cent balance transfer deal and just 11 per cent of card holders have moved all of their existing debt to a 0 per cent deal.

And astonishingly, only one in five Britons (19 per cent) with credit card debt are planning to transfer their outstanding balance over the next few months to take advantage of a 0 per cent deal.

Callum Gibson, Head of Credit Cards at Abbey, comments: "By transferring an outstanding credit card balance to a 0 per cent deal, Britons could save an average of £443 a year, a huge cost saving in today's difficult economic climate. At a time when people are having to manage their finances more carefully, transferring to a 0 per deal is a sensible way of ensuring your money goes further.

"The new Abbey Credit Card offers the longest balance transfer period on the high street to help customers more effectively manage their existing credit card debt. It also offers one of the best rates on ongoing purchases and spending."


Features of the new Abbey Credit Card include:

0 per cent on balance transfers for 15 months
0 per cent on purchases for three months
Highly competitive ongoing APR of 15.9 per cent
Available in branch, over the telephone or online