UK Card Issuers Announce Plans for New Credit Data Sharing

Barclaycard, the Co-operative Bank, Egg and Abbey have announced plans to share additional cardholder data on credit cards to help identify customers getting into financial difficulty.

The agreement will see the companies sharing ‘behavioural’ data – helping to identify changes in circumstances that suggest an individual is experiencing problems with personal debt. This data will be shared through the main UK credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax and Callcredit) and will include, for the first time, items such as:

• How much is being spent on the card each month
• How much is being repaid each month
• How much cash has been taken out
• Any recent increases or changes to credit limits
• Any cheques sent for payment which bounce
• How many people can use the card