Irish Credit Card Mistrust A Serious Problem, Argues Financial Facts
(PRWEB) November 29, 2009 -- Financial Facts (http://www.financialfacts.org) has been following the unsettling trend of Ireland's growing distrust of the financial industry.
The Irish are the world's third-highest spenders on their credit cards, behind only the Americans and the South Koreans. Research from Mintel suggests that four out of every ten consumers in Ireland aged 15 and over are in possession of a credit card. But as a result of this heavy depence on credit cards, they are also one of the most disgruntled nations when it comes to the state of their banks.
Some have even gone to extremes. As reported by The Sun (http://www.thesun.co.uk), Mark Boyle, from Donegal, made a pact to avoid spending money for an entire year. After an initial £360 purchase of solar panels and a kindly donated caravan, he began his new life with the goal of not spending even a penny. While the average Irishman is unlikely to resort to making their own nettle tea and building their furniture out of tree stumps, there is a much less severe, but equally damaging, undercurrent of mistrust.
A joint poll carried out by the Irish Times and Behaviour Attitudes claims that 41% of the country wished they had spent more frug ally over the past few years and while only 5% considered the past few years as a reason to completely distrust banks, there is still a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to making risky financial leaps.
Financial Facts has studied the Irish credit card market to see if the choice of credit cards is partly responsible for this predicament. While there is marginally less choice, the quality of the cards remains high.
The main credit cards, specific to Ireland, are AIB (Allied Irish Banks), Bank Of Ireland and Ulster Bank. While these may be the most obvious option, it may be worth considering the possibility of a global supplier, such as American Express or Halifax. But to get the most of both words, a few global providers offer an uniquely Irish credit card. MBNA, one of the best credit card (http://www.mbna.ie)suppliers to have a specific Irish presence, offer a variety of options, from reward credit cards (http://www.mbna.ie/creditcards/ireland_travel.html)(in some cases linked to Irish football and rugby teams) to charity credit cards (http://www.mbna.ie/creditcards/ireland_charity.html) (for charities including the Dublin Zoo).
To compare credit cards (http://www.mbna.ie/creditcards/directory.html) offered by MBNA, visit their website and decide for yourself. But in the opinion of Financial Facts, credit cards such as this might be enough to turn the tide of public opinion.
Resources
###