Credit cards are used widely around the world, and the majority of adults in the United Kingdom have credit card debts. According to latest reports on personal debt, each household now has around £40,000. Indeed, this does not mean that every household carries that level in debt, but certainly the amount is steep. Credit cards are a large part of regular consumer debt although they are becoming harder to apply for.
Since the financial downturn and the fresh stance by the government to clean up the country’s financial books, banks and lenders are forced to adhere to much tougher rules regarding credit cards and borrowing products. The previous government is often blamed for the severe situation in the country, with economic problems comparable with suffering Eurozone nations. The question remains, is it sensible for a person to take a new credit card when they know that they already have debts to deal with? In reality, credit cards are massively vitalfor many areas in modern life: big purchases such as a vehicle or house are only possible with the aid of a credit card. Many internet merchants solely accept credit cards, as do hotels. A large number of merchants do not even accept debit cards – so what other options are there for consumers?
Thankfully there are masses of types of credit cards (Kreditkarten in German), from ‘free’ prepaid credit cards to exclusive credit cards and corporate cards. The choice is vast, so most consumers are catered for. For instance, the individual who has issues obtaining a loan or other personal credit product at a mainstream bank may now apply for a bad credit credit card. This type of card usually has a small credit limit, but awards the card holder more purchase power and often there are special features such as a credit builder. This is created to assist the card user to rebuild their credit status, although the risk of more debts is constantly there.
Prepaid credit cards are more and more in demand in the United Kingdom, and offer the ability to make purchases on the internet and globally with what seems to be a classic credit card. They are even serviced by one of the main credit card firms like MasterCard. However, rather than offer the card user a borrowing facility, the card may only be pre-loaded with their own money. Once these have been spent, it is up to the card user to re-load the card with more funds. The main plus point of this is that the card user needn’t worry about running into debt, as it is impossible to take credit using the card. However, there are one or two setbacks. For instance, the majority of prepaid cards do include one or two charges such as purchase fees or admin fees. These are mostly paid with funds on the card.