UK Credit Card Rates Rise Despite BOE Reductions
Despite the BOE dropping UK interest rates from 5 per cent to 3 per cent, interest rates charged by the big banks and High Street chains on UK credit and store cards is continuing to rise.
The NatWest credit card has risen from 13.9 per cent to 16.9 per cent since May, whilst HSBC's credit card and the Virgin Money Mastercard have both climbed one percentage point to the same mark.
Store cards have gone up by even more with the likes of Principles and Oasis raising charges for their in-store cards by 4 per cent to 28.9 per cent.
The increase in rates will do little to encourage consumer spending in the run up to Christmas.
The news comes hot on the heels of figures revealing that the total value of retail sales in the UK fell in October for the first time in three years, reflecting a "record low" in consumer confidence.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) sales monitor for October shows that like-for-like sales were down 2.2 per cent, and total sales fell 0.1 per cent, the first annual drop since April 2005.
The NatWest credit card has risen from 13.9 per cent to 16.9 per cent since May, whilst HSBC's credit card and the Virgin Money Mastercard have both climbed one percentage point to the same mark.
Store cards have gone up by even more with the likes of Principles and Oasis raising charges for their in-store cards by 4 per cent to 28.9 per cent.
The increase in rates will do little to encourage consumer spending in the run up to Christmas.
The news comes hot on the heels of figures revealing that the total value of retail sales in the UK fell in October for the first time in three years, reflecting a "record low" in consumer confidence.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) sales monitor for October shows that like-for-like sales were down 2.2 per cent, and total sales fell 0.1 per cent, the first annual drop since April 2005.
