Credit Card Report
Financial News Made Easy

Credit card borrowers are feeling the effects of the recent turmoil in financial markets following a flurry of rate and fee increases, it was claimed today.

In the past two months more than 125 separate fees and rates have been increased, according to financial information provider Moneyfacts.co.uk, with those customers making cash withdrawals on credit cards being hit the hardest.

Research by the firm showed 69 card providers had increased their fees for making a cash withdrawal, with many now charging 3% of the sum taken out.

Meanwhile, 25 credit cards now have higher interest rates on cash withdrawals than in the summer, and three have increased their headline purchase rates, despite there being no movement in the Bank of England base rate since the rise in July.

American Express applied the biggest hike to purchase rates, increasing the cost of spending on its Platinum Moneyback card by 3% to 18.9%, while Goldfish and Marks & Spencer both added 1% to the cost of shopping with their cards.
- Source: Hilary Osborne, Credit card users hit with rising costs, The Guardian, Nov. 5, 2007