Egg has risked a consumer outcry by cutting off thousands of its own customers.
The credit card firm sent out letters to seven per cent of its customers last week, announcing that they would no longer be able to make transactions on their cards in 35 days time.
Those affected are not, however, required to settle their accounts immediately - and can continue to make minimum payments until all debt is paid off.
Egg's move followed a risk review undertaken by the firm, which identified customers whose credit rating had deteriorated over time and now represented a "higher than acceptable" risk.
The cut-offs were welcomed by Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association.
Speaking to the BBC, she commented: "Whilst it is lovely to spend, it is the paying back that is always the difficulty.
"It might seem a bit hard to say to people 'You do need to stop spending' but it does actually make real sense so to do."
A total of 161,000 cardholders are to be cut off by the provider.
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