The survey, by Upaid, found that three-quarters of credit card holders believe being able to use text messaging in this way would give them more control over their finances.

The research also revealed that one in four people using direct debit to pay credit card bills see their debts mount up because they only pay the minimum amount each month.

“Our survey shows that credit card users are aware that paying by the minimum amount can cause long term debt but they don’t have a simple enough mechanism to adjust their payments each month,” Ashley Ward, CEO of Upaid, told Finextra.

The Upaid managing director said that a number of major lenders are already considering using text messaging as a reminder and payment authorisation service.
Nationwide launched a text balance alert service for its FlexAccount customers in January this year.

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