Within
less than a week of the UK government announcing plans to clamp
down on the credit card industry, Citigroup’s UK-based direct
banking subsidiary, Egg, rolled out a new credit card with an
annual £12 fee ($19.70), the first major credit card issuer in the
country to reintroduce the once-commonplace
charge.
The Egg Money
World MasterCard, which debuted on 14 July, offers 1 percent
cashback on all purchases, up to a maximum of £200 a year, meaning
cardholders who charge goods worth more than £1,200 in a 12 month
period to the card will recover the annual card
fee.
Go deeper with GlobalData
According to
consultancy Auriemma, Egg will be the first of many card issuers to
impose an annual card fee. “Reduced revenues will drive credit card
issuers to introduce cards with annual fees to consumers in the
near future. Cards without annual fees will not feature rewards and
will only offer cardholders basic benefits,” it said in a recent
report.
In Canada,
however, the country’s fourth-largest lender Bank of Montreal (BMO)
did precisely the opposite, announcing in a statement on 15 July
that it would remove the current C$35 ($31.20) annual fee for its
MasterCard product.
It added that it
will remove restrictions to help it go “head-to-head with American
Express and other no-fee credit cards”. BMO also said it had
enhanced the benefits of its AIR MILES MasterCard by boosting the
discount on the number of reward miles required to redeem any
flight from 20 to 25 percent.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalData
