British banks are giving credit cards to people who may not be able to afford them, according to new research.

Basic financial checks were not carried out on some 88 per cent of people who successfully applied for a credit card last year, according to price comparison website uSwitch.

Additionally, 95 per cent were not asked to show evidence of their outgoings in order to establish their suitability for credit.

The Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB) recently announced that voluntary guidelines for the industry need to be overhauled to improve consumer protection amidst concerns that banks are taking advantage of the most vulnerable members of society.

Nick White, head of personal finance at uSwitch.com, said: "As consumer debts escalate, there need to be clear measures in place to ensure providers are lending in a truly responsible manner.

"We are particularly concerned that those applicants least likely to be truthful about their incomes are all from the most vulnerable groups, namely the self-employed, students, the unemployed and those on low incomes."

But credit card companies still sent out more than 100 million unsolicited credit card applications in the three months before Christmas.

Credit card debt in the UK currently stands at £56.35 billion, with UK consumers accounting for two thirds of the total credit card debt in the whole of the EU.