In the years leading up to the global financial crisis lenders were being very lax with regards to their criteria, and this meant that credit was granted to pretty much anyone that wanted it. However, over the last couple of years the global financial crisis coupled with the recession has resulted in more people maxing out their credit cards as they tried desperately to stay afloat financially.

A combination of these factors has resulted in some consumers having huge credit card debts, as well as loans and overdrafts, that they cannot afford to make repayments on, and this means that many may end up having to seek financial assistance with regards to their debt management. With lenders now said to be writing off record levels of credit card debt the problems facing many of these borrowers have become all too evident.

The number of people that are expected to become insolvent in the UK this year reflects an increase of 10 percent compared to the number of people that became insolvent last year.

One industry official said: “We stand on the brink of a personal insolvency crisis that will take years to work through the system. We know there are nearly a million people out there who are struggling with their debt. While it may be the case that these problems are resolved without help, there is a risk that they might snowball out of control.”

It has been announced recently that the number of contactless Visa cards in use in the UK is set to soar to twelve million by the end of this year, as more and more people realise the benefits and convenience of using this cards to make payment for smaller purchases. The cards require no signature or PIN to be entered, and therefore transactions can be made with speed and ease, which is great news for both the customers and retailers who are using the system.

Officials from Visa Europe said that its original prediction for the number of contactless credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards that would be in use for the end of this year was ten million, but that given the increase popularity and use of the cards they had decided to increase this estimate to twelve million.

Visa Europe also said that over the past six months the number of transactions that had been carried out with the use of a contactless credit card had doubled, which again reflected the rising popularity of these cards as more and more people became aware of them and discovered their benefits.

Mark Austin from Visa Europe stated: “Since its launch in 2007, contactless technology has grown in popularity and is fast becoming an everyday way to pay. This is demonstrated by the fact that the average value transaction is currently £4.30, showing that people are more and more confident, and keen, to use cards for smaller amounts rather than carrying cash.”