Jersey credit cards: banks still refusing islanders

What the Jersey credit cards row means for islanders

The Jersey Consumer Council says several banks and credit card providers are still turning down applications from islanders, according to the BBC.

Despite a law change in July designed to clear the way, the council wants Jersey's government to press providers directly rather than wait for the market to shift on its own.

The reform took effect on 30 July, when Jersey's government won the power to securely share islanders' personal data with UK credit reference agencies.

However they are not alone, with British households feeling their own pinch, including one 94% council tax hike that sparked fury earlier this year.

How Jersey's government has responded

Jersey Consumer Council member Carl Walker stated that card providers will need reassurance before they return.

"Jersey was slamming the door shut, so they have switched off and turned their attention elsewhere," he said.

Household budgets are stretched everywhere just about now, with many still asking whether it's cheaper to leave the heater on low all day as we approach colder seasons.

Walker wants the government to spell out the change in writing.

"We're pushing the government to write them an official letter to say this piece of legislation has now changed, Jersey's now open for business... and then leave it up to them whether they decide they to come back or not," said Walker.

A government spokesperson said officials had "engaged with providers throughout this process" and would keep doing so.

Ministers had "successfully delivered a project to share islanders' data with credit reference agencies," the spokesperson said, calling it a fix to a barrier the industry itself had flagged.

Whether providers return is, in the government's own words, "a commercial decision" for each company.

Only time will tell if the threshold for Jersey habitants accessing credit cards will open up.