Research shows that a third of students have credit cards

According to research conducted by Halifax, more than one third of students in the UK have credit cards these days, and the average credit card debt owed by each student is almost £220. Like other individuals, many students have had to cope with rising costs, such as increased travel costs, increased rents for those living away from home, and increased tuition fees.

Officials state that this is resulting in more and more students turning to credit cards in order to cope financially, with many also turning to their overdraft facilities. The figures indicated that 37% of students now have credit cards, although a separate recent report showed that a higher number of people in Scotland have credit cards.

The research also showed that female students are more likely to have higher credit card debts than male students, with female students having an average credit card debt of £255.50. For male students the average credit card debt was considerably lower at £173.20. Students in the Eastern and South Eastern parts of the UK were more likely to have higher loan debt, averaging around £360 each whilst students studying in the East Midlands had a far lower average credit card debt of £129.50 each.

Halifax officials have said that the Halifax Student Credit Card that it offers is aimed at students based on what they are looking for in a card. Officials from Halifax interviewed many students in order to find out what they wanted from a credit card, and then used this information to create a student card that would give students what they were looking for in a card.