A credit card culture?
One notable difference is in ownership of credit cards. Whilst Britain and the US have very high levels of ownership (71% and 68% respectively), this is not common across all Western countries - for example only one in five Italians have a credit card. Within Europe Britain has the most prominent 'card-culture'; with less than half of its consumers preferring to pay cash for everything they buy, compared to two thirds of those in the Republic of Ireland.
In South Africa the penetration is equal to that of Italy and has shown fast growth over the last three years.
Credit cards are generally less popular in Eastern Europe - for example, only 6% of Bulgarians and 13% of Slovaks own a credit card. Asia is more mixed; credit cards are owned by only 7% of Chinese people1, compared to over 40% of those in Taiwan. (1Chinese data from 30 main cities).
Despite high levels of credit card ownership, Britons are relatively cautious when using them - half make the full payment on their card balance each month. Similarly, only one in 10 of French credit card owners feel their card allows them to buy the sort of things they couldn't normally afford. In contrast, whilst far fewer people own credit cards in Greece, those who do are likely to be less conscientious about settling their balance, with only 15% paying off the full amount each time. 37% of South Africans say that they settle the full amount each month.
Avoiding debt seems a more universal worry, with 44% of South Africans agreeing that they do not like the idea of being in debt. Spaniards are among the most concerned, with over 80% agreeing that they do not like the idea of being in debt, although people from Hungary and Montenegro are more relaxed, with only 44 and 54% agreeing respectively. Consumers in Western Europe seem slightly more open to borrowing; whilst a third of Germans have used some form of credit or loan to buy an expensive item in the past year, less than 20% of those in Serbia and Poland have done the same.
Only 6.6% of South Africans associate with the statement that they "enjoy spending money rather than saving it" but amongst Credit Card owners this almost doubles to over 12%. Similarly, Credit Card owners are less "risk averse" than the average South African.
So overall how confident are consumers today about the way they handle their money? Well, TGI data shows considerable variation. Over 40% of South Africans feel they are no good at saving money and a third of Mexicans admit that they tend to spend to it without thinking. However, in other countries considerable consumer confidence is evident; in Uganda two thirds of people believe they are very good at managing their money and in Egypt 67% claim that if there's something they want, they would be prepared to save up for it.
Source: Global TGI; Base: Individuals aged 18+. South Africa 16+.
