26 September 2007
Nearly one quarter of credit card users in the UK plan to reduce the number of credit cards they have in their wallets, figures from Abbey reveal.
According to the high street bank, 7.7 million credit cardholders, representing 23% of the population, say that they would like to consolidate numerous credit cards onto a single card in the future.
The figures come as research shows Britons currently have an average of two credit cards at any one time, while 22% hold three or more flexible friends.
What is more, the average credit cardholder has between one and two credit cards that has not been used during the last year.
Roger Lovering, Managing Director of Santander Cards Limited UK, said: "Unless a person is using all of their credit cards, many don't want to keep them up and running.
"In the current climate, people are becoming more and more savvy about the impact numerous cards have on their credit rating, and a significant number of cardholders are now looking to consolidate all their credit cards."
Having access to cashback facilities is the most important feature of a new credit card deal, Abbey also found, while 18% of customers stated that having a low APR rate was the most important feature of a new credit card.