Sterling is up 0.3% against the euro

By UK CreditCards.com

British holidaymakers planning to use their credit cards abroad could see lower exchange rates as the pound once again stabilises.

Sterling is up 0.3% against the euro after news of strong retail sales in the UK improved market sentiment.

The Office for National Statistics revealed that high street revenues increased by 0.4% in October, spurred on by a rise in consumer spending.

Although this growth is less than the forecast 0.6%, it could be indicative of slowly-returning confidence.

Duncan Higgins, senior analyst at Caxton FX, said: "The data is a positive sign that consumers are now feeling confident enough in their economy to go out and spend. It also supports signs that credit conditions in the UK are beginning to ease, in response to the £200bn stimulus package."

This latest rise comes a day after the pound fell dramatically against the dollar and the European single currency.

Credit card leak suspected in Spain

By UK CreditCards.com

UK residents who used their credit cards abroad during a Spanish holiday could have been caught up in a major fraud scam.

A suspected data breach has been uncovered at a payments firm that works with international credit card companies Visa and MasterCard. This could have led to transaction details being leaked to fraudsters, putting credit card customers at risk of ID theft.

Reports have suggested that around 100,000 cards will be recalled in Germany as a result of the alleged scam and that police have launched an investigation into the matter.

Andreas Martin of the German Central Credit Card Commission told Deutsche Welle: "A number of credit card distributors have been affected including some from other countries. We are not sure how many cardholders were in Spain at the time in question."

Meanwhile, Visa Europe said that there had been a "possible card data security issue in Spain," but that "no details are yet confirmed" about the breach.