Credit card issuers share more ‘behavioural data’

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Five major credit card issuers have signed up to a APACS data sharing scheme, which will allow them to share ‘behavioural’ information on their customers.

By December, Barclaycard, Capital One, GE Money, HBOS and MBNA will all be ready to share their data, with other APACS members following in accordance with their own IT plans.

The data sharing is in order to help and identify people who may be in financial difficulties, and also to help the industry meet its new commitments to responsible lending, which were set out in March’s revisions to the banking code.

Previously shared data has included the customer’s balance, credit limit and whether payments were up to date.

The new data will include the amount of their last payment and whether it was equivalent to the minimum payment, credit limit changes and the extent to which they withdraw cash from their account.

It also reveals whether the customer is signed up to promotional deals, which is important because it could distinguish those who are only paying the minimum due to financial difficulty and those who could repay more but choose not to due to the deal.

“This new data relates to how customers manage their accounts and will enable lenders to intervene, at an earlier stage, for those showing signs of debt stress and ensuring that those already struggling are not given further credit,” said Paul Rodford, APACS’ head of card payments.

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