"Ordinarily, we would expect borrowing to rise more dramatically around Christmas time, but these results would indicate otherwise," chief executive Christine Christian said.

Only 20 per cent of consumers plan to apply for new credit in the December quarter, down from a third in mid-2009.

However, financial stress among low-income households and younger consumers is rising as they continue to access more credit, suggesting credit providers may face a higher number of defaults, Ms Christian says.

Forty per cent of low-income households expect difficulty meeting credit repayments over Christmas, D&B found. The findings come a week after figures from Australia's biggest privately owned debt collection company show a surge in the number of people repaying overdue debts in instalments.

Innovative e-tailer Globalmediapro has proposed a new payment scheme designed to provide online merchants with an alternative to credit cards.

The scheme would use a modified wire or bank transfer system to provide merchants with the online payment equivalent to credit cards. Currently, online retailers using existing bank transfer methods of payment must wait at least a day for the payment confirmation to appear in their accounts before processing the order.

With the new payment system, businesses who register their bank account with SWIFT and receive a SWIFT code will receive a same day payment confirmation message meaning they can process the order without delay.

The proposed scheme offers similar advantages to that of credit cards; in that payment is recognizable, rapid and provides the information need for a safe refund if required.

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Posted by Admin on 18 November 2011 3:45:00 PM #