Credit card interest hits new record high

Given recent reports that everything is going down, from mortgage rates to savings interest, it is surprising to find that credit card interest has been bucking the trend and the effects of the Bank of England's base rate cut by going up. According to our latest research, the average credit card purchase rate has now in fact hit a record high of 22.8% APR.

As credit card users may know, a lot of the recent competition regarding credit cards has concentrated on interest-free deals, which allow borrowers to avoid high interest rates if they manage to pay off their balance on time. This year, however, there has been little change to the longest interest-free terms, with our research showing that the average 0% introductory purchase term has increased by only seven days year-on-year (from 273 days in September 2015 to 280 days now). The average 0% introductory balance transfer term has improved slightly more, from 551 days in September 2015 to 584 days now.


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