With the Boxing Day sales in full swing and the biggest night of the year fast approaching, research from CommBank reveals nearly one million1 credit cards may be reported lost or stolen over the festive season2.
Whether out shopping the sales or celebrating the New Year, the vast majority (61 per cent) of cancelled credit cards will simply be misplaced. In other words, more than half a million3 cards will be needlessly cancelled over the festive season, with Aussies wasting around 400,0004 festive hours updating the details of cancelled credit cards.
With Aussies expected to be spending an extra $1000 over the festive period and the majority planning to make payments with their credit or debit cards5, CommBank is encouraging customers to use the CommBank app to put a temporary lock on their misplaced credit card while they look for it.
Angus Sullivan, Executive General Manager Consumer Finance, Payments and Strategy, Commonwealth Bank, says: "It's the time of year when we all like to let our hair down and enjoy the sales and festivities, and perhaps unsurprisingly, many of us are likely to misplace our card at some point."
"While misplacing your credit card is always frustrating, the latest CommBank app feature allows our customers to put a temporary lock on a misplaced credit card while they look for it. Enabling them to enjoy the holiday season with the peace of mind their misplaced credit card is secure and safe in the knowledge they have the convenient option to unlock it again if it turns up."
Interestingly, the most common places people have misplaced their credit cards include their home (61 per cent) and in bars or restaurants (37 per cent). However, there are some differences between men and women, with men more likely to lose their card on a night out (31 per cent versus 22 per cent), while woman are more likely to lose their card when out shopping (52 per cent compared to 45 per cent).
For more information or to learn how to use the new temporary lock for CommBank credit cards, please visitcommbank.com.au/cardsecurity.
Available for download now
For existing CommBank app users, the temporary lock feature can be installed via the latest CommBank app updates in Google Play and the App Store. For new users, the CommBank app is available to download from Google Play and the App Store.
Notes to editors
The study was conducted by Lonergan Research among 1,244 Australians aged 18 years and older. Fieldwork commenced on Wednesday 17 September and was completed on Saturday 20 September 2014. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.