Annual fees on credit cards will be the norm by the end of the decade, says Defaqto.

Last year’s decision by the Office of Fair Trading to limit credit card providers’ penalty fees to £12 has prompted many to raise their interest rates – and look for other ways to recoup the lost profits.

The financial research company says Barclaycard is considering introducing an annual fee of up to £20 for customers who don’t use their card regularly, and it reckons many others will follow suit.

As a result, it predicts more people will turn to debit cards instead.

Sadly, the users who ditch their credit cards will be the ones for whom they don’t cause a problem.

If only those who waste millions of pounds a year in interest on card debts would give up as well and turn to debit cards.

At least then, limited by the bounds of their overdrafts, they couldn’t spend so much money they don’t have.

In the meantime, it might be worth switching to a card that charges a lower rate of interest.