Credit Card Companies To Share More Data

1st December 2008

Starting this month five of the UK's largest credit card issuers will start to share behavioural data about their customers’ accounts. The credit card companies taking part are Barclaycard, Capital One, MBNA, HBOS and GE Money with other firms expected to join in later.

All credit card companies already share data about a customers current balance, credit limit and whether their payments are up to date, but this new data sharing will now include, the amount of your last payment, whether this was the same as the monthly minimum repayment amount, any changes to your credit limit, the extent to which you withdraw cash on your account and also whether you have signed up to any promotional or introductory deals.

The aim behind the new data sharing is that it will help credit card companies to identify and help anyone who is experiencing financial difficulties. APACS,the UK payment association, has welcomed the move, believing it will enable the credit card companies to have a clearer idea of how customers use their credit cards so they can lend accordingly, thus supporting the industry’s commitment to responsible lending.