Annual fees are likely to become ‘the norm’ by the end of the decade, predicted Defaqto’s head of banking David Black.

Barclaycard is allegedly considering following Lloyds TSB’s lead to bring in a fee of £20, although it has stressed the fee “for a minority of customers that simply do not use their cards” would only be introduced as a “last resort”.

But annual fees on credit cards could drive customers towards fee-free debit cards, David Black warned providers.

Other customers could choose to play credit card companies cleverly, he added, by closing down existing accounts then returning to the same provider as ‘new’ customers and benefiting once again from introductory offers such as zero per cent interest rate periods.

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