The cost-of-living crisis has seen reliance on credit cards increase as people grapple with soaring food and energy bills. Households piled an additional £1.2billion onto credit cards as living costs increased and Christmas approached - marking the highest amount since 2004.
In total, people borrowed an additional £1.5bn in consumer credit in November, jumping from £748million in October, according to Bank of England figures. As the figures were released, charity StepChange warned of a "real danger" that people will increasingly turn to credit to finance the essentials.
The additional consumer credit borrowing in November was split between £1.19bn on credit cards - the highest total since £1.28 billion was borrowed in March 2004 - and £317 million borrowed through other forms of credit such as car dealership finance and personal loans. Karim Haji, a financial services head at KPMG said: "While this time last year we were breathing a sigh of relief that the worst of the pandemic was behind us, that optimism now seems a dim and distant memory.
