UK Credit Cards Rates Hit 4-Year High

New figures released by Defaqto suggest that credit card interest rates reached 4-year high in Great Britain.

The Bank of England's base rate has been frozen at the level of 0.5% for many years, but average credit card rates have been growing and now stand at 18.7%.

Experts say that the gap is constantly widening; they recall that 5 years ago the base rate was 5.75% and the credit card rate was just 16.6%.

Commenting on the findings, Mr. Black of Defaqto said that "Credit cards have become much harder for people to obtain over the last few years and, at the same time, we have seen a significant increase in standard interest rates that they charge."

In the opinion of Eddy Weatherill, representative of the Independent Banking Advisory Service, banks are simply profiteering and there's no justification for such high rates.

Speaking in support of UK banks, the British Banking Association said "Banks’ costs have increased due to the economic situation and increased regulatory costs, such as the requirement to hold more capital."