Debit Cards Used More Than Cash

According to a new report, debit card spending for the last year rose 9%, to make it used more than cash in shops. Credit card spending remained the same. Britons love their plastic!

"For the first time, debit card spending in shops - including online shopping - has outstripped the use of cash."

Taken from the BBC.

Credit Card Next Step For PayPal

Paypal is set to launch its own credit card. This seems the next logical step, and will tie in with their existing financial services & ebay (who own paypal). They will certainly have a fair amount of advertising weight!

What the card will offer:

* 12.9% Interest Rate (This is a fairly standard rate...)
* 0% Interest on balance transfers for first 6 months (This is good to get people on board)
* No Annual Fee (Pretty much the standard in the UK)
* Instant Decisions on applicants.
* ID theft insurance.
* Fraud Protection.

The credit card will be rolled out to selected existing users of paypal first, then will be offered to all from around May.

The card does not seem to offer a great many benefits in my opinion, but im sure it will get a reasonable amount of applications from paypal users who do not currently own a credit card.

It is yet to materialise how the card will offer benefits when joined with other paypal financial services.

Win World Cup Tickets With Barclaycard

You can win tickets to the World Cup 2006 in Germany with Barclaycard World Cup. They are one of the official sponsors of the tournament. This promotion ties in nicely with England winning the world cup in 1966, which was the same time as the Barclaycard credit card was launched.

Here are the prizes in full:

1st prize


If your name's first out of the bag, you'll win VIP tickets to see a match in every one of the 12 FIFA World Cup stadiums. All transport and accommodation is included, along with €2000 of spending money, courtesy of MasterCard - simply 'priceless'.


2nd Prize


Win one of 15* pairs of VIP tickets to see England play in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Flights and transport to and from the game are included.


Runners Up


500 runners-up will receive a 2006 FIFA World Cup goodie bag, filled with official FIFA World Cup merchandise.

The downside is that you have to use your barclaycard credit card to be entered :)

Read the press release here.

Excessive Credit Card Fees - Watchdog Fights Back

Excessive credit card fees may become a thing of the past soon, as UK credit watchdogs are on to the credit card companies. A fee 'cap' may be introduced to limit the spiralling fees of most systems, which just push people further into debt.

More Info Here at RTE