A recent survey carried out in the UK shows that despite the fact that the costs of borrowing have reached an all-time low, local financial services institutions have boosted interest rates on both credit and debit cards.

Thus, while the Bank of England has slashed its base rate from 5 to 3 percent starting from May, over the same interval data shows that the average annual percentage rate (APR) for credit cards has climbed from 17.2 to 17.6 per cent, while in-store card APR has peaked at 25 percent. Overall, Britons owe over GBP 200 billion in unsecured borrowing, which includes overdrafts, personal loans and credit and store cards. According to the survey in question, this represents almost 20 percent of UK total lending.

The study examined 240 UK credit cards and concluded that commercial financial services provider National Westminster Bank (or NatWest as it is popularly known) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) performed the most significant APR increases, from 13.9 percent in May to 16.9 in November 2008, up 22 percent. HSBC's credit card and the Virgin Money MasterCard also come with increasing APR, up 6 percent from May to November 2008. Data also shows that credit card companies have also increased their ATM money withdrawal charges both in Britain as well as abroad.

When it comes to major high street chain store cards for companies such as Argos, or Marks & Spencer, the survey shows they rose from 24.4 percent to 25.4 percent over the same May to November interval.

The study was commissioned by UK newspaper the Independent and carried out by banking research group Defaqto.