Welcome to our very first Money Matters post for 2020, where we put together recent news, events and articles of interest for you to catch up on in January, brought to you by the Money Guru Squad.
News Highlights:
- Brexit deadline still confirmed as 31st January
- Card Spending Update reveals £16.6 billion spent on credit cards in Oct 2019
- Net flow of consumer credit fell to £0.6 billion in November 2019
- Term for 0% balance transfer credit cards fallen to average of 17 months
The first month of 2020 has been a slow countdown to the Brexit deadline of 31st January that is, at the time of writing, still confirmed and not set for further delays. This means at the very least that a period of UK uncertainty is coming to an end, with a new one beginning. This will come in the form of a transitional period estimated to be around a year long.
A report from UK Finance showed us that UK credit card holders spent £16.6 billion over 291 million transactions in October 2019, but this was actually down by 2.7% in the same period a year before. Another report from the Bank of England showed that consumer credit flow was at £0.6 billion, the smallest since November 2013.
Money Guru Highlights:
- Would you like to make the switch to a challenger bank? – a study into the popularity of challenger banks and whether the general public have started to trust them more than established banks
- Financial predictions 2020 – the Money Guru Squad have put together their predictions for 2020 and how they will affect consumer credit and borrowing as a whole
- Balance Transfer Cards: how do they work? – with balance transfer terms falling on average, it’s a good time to look at transferring a current debt onto a 0% credit card before the terms get too small. Our useful guide gives you the low down on how balance transfers work
- Business Bank Account Review 2020 – if you’re thinking of starting a business and need a secure space to look after your finances, you’ve come to the right place. Have a look at our review of 6 major business banks to see which one stacks up as the best for you. Choose from the following providers:
Have you checked your eligibility?
Last but not least, if you’re thinking of applying for a credit card or personal loan in 2020, always check your eligibility first. This will protect your credit score and narrow down your search so you don’t have to trawl through all of our products.
Start your comparison journey today by filling out moneymatcher – it will take less than 5 minutes and you can view your results for up to 30 days!
Sources:
https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/news-and-insight/news-in-brief/news-brief-16-january-2020
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/money-and-credit/2019/november-2019