Increase in amount of store credit taken out

According to the FLA (Finance and Leasing Association) there was an 8% increase in new store instalment credit taken out in May, bucking the trend compared to personal loan and unsecured loans activity.

Overall consumer credit provided by FLA members fell 18% in May compared to May 2008.

Consumers are generally taking a more cautious approach to spending and thinking carefully about taking on additional loans and credit commitments.

You can still get a personal loan offering a headline good rate of interest.

Your credit rating will impact on the actual rate you get.

It may be worth checking your credit rating and trying to improve it before you apply for new credit.

The secured loan market was down 85% compared with May 2008.

So the store credit market really is bucking the trend but as Geraldine Kilkelly at the FLA  comments ‘Store instalment credit allows customers to borrow in a very controlled way for a particular purchase, with repayment being easily planned within their household budget’.

Perhaps the rise in this type of credit is therefore not so surprising.