• More than a third of credit card holders will rely on credit cards for everyday purchases in January
• Over two million people planning to spend more on plastic in January 2012 than January 2011
• 38 per cent increasing spend by up to £200 in January 2012

Over 12 million people  (36 per cent of credit card holders) will spend the first month of 2012 relying on their credit cards simply to fund day-to-day living costs, according to the fifth annual Post Office Consumer Credit Report.*

Whilst this is only a 2 per cent increase on the 2011 figures, it does highlight the large number of people relying on credit cards for essential purchases in January. The report also revealed 42 per cent of credit card holders are expecting to use their cards for grocery shopping.

Against the backdrop of economic instability and rising living costs, consumers expect to be more reliant on their credit cards in January 2012 than this year, with over two million (seven per cent)  people planning to put more on plastic in January 2012 compared with January 2011. Almost four in ten (38 per cent) say they plan to increase their spend by up to £200.

Other usages include:
• One in ten (10 per cent of those using their credit card in January) say they will need to pay off outstanding Christmas  costs and debts
• Almost one in ten (seven per cent) saying they will need to use their credit card in January to pay their domestic bills.
•  A third (32 per cent) admit they will use their credit card to fund January sales shopping
• And almost a quarter (22%) say they will use their card to book a holiday in January. 

The report highlights, as a result of paying off a credit card balance, almost a quarter (21 per cent) say they will need to budget more carefully throughout 2012, with an additional six per cent anticipating they will be seriously over stretched due to their debts.
 
The study also reveals it’s a case of the more the merrier for men – with one in five (21 per cent) men having three or more cards compared to 17 percent of women owning the same amount.  Those in the East of England are the biggest multi-card culprits, with 27 per cent of them owning three or more cards. 

Post Office Head of Credit Cards Az Alibhai said: “Whilst it is good to see so many people intending to manage their credit card purchases and repayments sensibly, there are still too many people who aren’t thinking of the consequences.

“With many people expecting to use their credit card more in January, we urge cardholders to check out their interest charges and consider switching to a deal with a zero per cent offer on purchases and balance transfers.  People with debts spread across different cards may benefit from consolidating their debts on to one card to make them easier to manage and to further reduce the amount of interest being paid.”

The Post Office Credit Card continues to offer zero per cent on balance transfers for the first 14 months and new purchases for the first three months.  Also, there is zero per cent commission on foreign purchases and it offers no cash advance fee when purchasing foreign currency from the Post Office (either online or in branch).  Customers also benefit from zero per cent on new balance transfers for five months for the second and third year.  Applications can be made online, over the phone, or in-branch.

To find out more about the Post Office Credit Card, log onto www.postoffice.co.uk, call 08457 22 33 44 or visit your local Post Office branch.

Ends

The Post Office Credit Card is a MasterCard provided by Bank of Ireland UK.

For more information, please contact:
Stuart Taylor         
Post Office Press Office        
02920 392 572
07715/480146
stuart.taylor@royalmail.com

www.postoffice.co.uk

*Research carried out by Opinium Research via an online poll of 2,016 UK adults from 18th – 21st November 2011.  

[1]There are 49,529,000 UK Adults (18+) Estimated by Office for National Statistics. The survey is based on 2,000 respondents who are representative of UK Adults aged 18+. The survey indicates approximately 70% of Adults have at least one credit card. Therefore this equals approx 35 million adults in UK with at least one credit card (49,529,000*70% = 34,670,300 people with at least one credit card). The 12 million comes from the 36% of credit card holders e.g. 34,670,300*36%=12,481,308 (approx 12 million people)

[1]Again 49, 529,000 UK adults and from the survey we know approx 70% of respondents have at least one credit card = 34,670,000 people with at least one credit card. Looking at people who have at least one credit card = 34,670,000, 7% pay domestic bills = 2,426,900 = (2 million people)