One of the latest pieces of news regarding credit cards is that they are quickly losing their appeal amongst borrowers. With so many different borrowing options, people are now opting for other methods of credit rather than credit cards. It is said that over £1 billion was lost by credit card companies in 2006 and the decline is blamed upon people taking out home equity loans instead.

More and more people are taking on mortgages and releasing equity in their homes. It seems that the charges of credit cards are finally catching up with the lenders and people are opting for easier and cheaper ways of gaining credit. Another mistake credit card companies have made is dropping their 0% interest rates for certain time periods. Many people are drawn to offers like that and by taking them away they are losing part of their consumer base.

So, it seems that credit cards are slowly losing business but they do not really need to worry just yet. People are still using them and there is plenty of time to bring back various consumers with more deals. Only time will really tell if this new decline in credit cards is a temporary thing or whether it is likely to continue.