Credit card market 'heating up'

Sourcing a competitive credit card deal looks set to be an easier process, with a number of new products to be launched and interest rates and fees on existing cards falling.

The Australian credit card sector is set to become more competitive, it has been suggested.

With a number of new products due to hit the market, Datamonitor indicates that people are increasingly aware of the cost of card fees and rates, Perth Now reports.

"Competition is set to heat up in the Australian credit card market and both rates and fees will come under pressure. This implies upcoming good deals for discerning consumers," Petter Ingemarsson, senior financial services analyst for Datamonitor, states.

He adds that as the economy picks up, the Australian banking industry will look to offer more competitive deals, with smaller banks and new entrants to the credit card market set to be "most aggressive" in attempting to increase their market share.

Such comments could be of particular interest to those wishing to compare accounts in order to secure a competitive deal.

Meanwhile, a recent RateCity study indicated that the number of people applying for a credit card surged 50 per cent over the third quarter of this year, compared to the previous three-month period.

Posted by Bret Clement