Sydney, Australia (PRWEB) July 24, 2013 -- The Creditcard.com.au National Credit Landscape For 2013 survey found the Australian credit landscape was filled with the good, the bad and the ugly of credit behaviour.
More than 2,080 Australians responded to the survey and revealed how well, or not, they followed what creditcard.com.au publisher Roland B Bleyer describes as the five important steps to sensible credit card debt management:
1. Checking the monthly statement
2. Paying attention to the real purchase interest rate
3. Understanding how interest free days work
4. Paying down the outstanding balance every month
5. Selecting the card features that best suit a person’s needs
Analysing the results of the six week national survey, Bleyer said: “The good is the national shrinking appetite for excessive credit and the reduction in the number of credit cards held. The survey recorded a greater determination, than six months ago, to pay off credit card debt. This was coupled with an increasing savviness about the importance of purchase and cash advance rates.
“The bad which the survey uncovered is that the more cards a person holds the more likely the person is ignoring “good housekeeping” rules of credit card ownership. The number of credit seekers simply taking the card their bank gives them is just dumb. We also wonder why there is such a high percentage of people failing to pay even the minimum balance each month.
“The ugly is the high level of debt that is held by people with three or more credit cards, the number of people blowing their credit limit. It is a worry that more than one in three credit seekers admit to seldom or never paying off the monthly balance. Finally we recorded a darker side to the increasing level of credit card fraud.”
The good:statistics revealed in the survey.
6 out of ten people hold less than $3,000 credit card debt – Reserve Bank of Australia record national average debt is $3,230
58% holding only one credit card – against 42% nine months ago
55% paying minimum each monthly with four out ten of that number paying it down to zero each month
63% shop around for credit cards most suitable for them
More than 8 out 10 check their statements
74% understand the importance of “interest free days”
Two thirds paid attention to the real purchase interest rate
The bad:statistics revealed in the survey.
One in four (24%) never meeting even the required minimum payment each month
15% not bothering to check their monthly statements
One in five holding three or more credit cards at one time
More than a quarter simply accepting - without comparison - the credit card their bank chooses for them
The ugly:statistics revealed in the survey.
23% reported they had been victim of credit card fraud, an increase from 21% reported earlier in 2013
Of those holding three or more cards four out of ten are carrying debt levels greater than $10,000 – three times national average
35% seldom or never paying off the monthly balance
34% admitted to exceeding their agreed credit limit
Roland B Bleyer, Pixel Capital Pty Ltd, http://www.creditcard.com.au, +61 2 9518 8177, [email protected]
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