New initiatives in the credit card industry have made consumers more responsible when borrowing money, according to a new report.
UK payment association Apacs has stated that credit card companies have taken a number of steps and worked together in the last year to benefit consumers.
In its Sharing Best Practice report, Apacs details the initiatives undertaken by creditors and the guidelines they have issued to encourage responsible borrowing.
These include the agreement made by lenders to increase data sharing in order to spot consumers who may be over-indebted and have financial problems.
In addition, a summary box for credit card cheques was introduced, which provides customers with details such as interest rates and any charges that could be levied.
“The results of our initiatives can be seen in recent data, which suggests cardholders are becoming more responsible in the way that they borrow – reining in their spending and focusing on repayments,” said Paul Smee, chief executive of Apacs.
Apacs, which also works to promote standards and tackle fraud within UK payment systems, plans to develop further data sharing plans in 2007.
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