A new report by UK payments association Apacs has revealed that the credit card industry has made progress on increasing transparency and data sharing to help support responsible lending.
The report details the steps the industry has undertaken to benefit the consumer, and provides an update on responsible lending initiatives such as increased data sharing.
Over the past year, Apacs says, the industry has focused its efforts on improving the information available to customers to help them make responsible borrowing decisions. Card companies have also continued to work together to agree guidelines for responsible lending.
Industry initiatives over the last year include introducing standard terminology to help consumers better understand the terms and expressions regarding interest rates and charges, agreeing to increase data sharing to help prevent over-indebtedness, and the launch of best practice guidelines and consumer advice guides.
The past year has seen the credit card industry make significant progress on the transparency agenda, noted Paul Smee, chief executive at Apacs. 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.