A new manoeuvre by a leading credit card organisation may mean that many customers could find themselves in debt for the rest of their lives.

Barclaycard have reduced minimum payments for certain customers from 2.35% to 1.5% starting from July in a move designed to help those struggling with the impact of the credit crunch.

But dissenting voices have warned that these reductions in payments would only mean longer outstanding debt aided with additional interest charges mounting over the years.

Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "Minimum repayments are sheer genius for card companies as they get to look generous by cutting costs when they're actually keeping customers perpetually in debt. The clever part is that as the amount you owe reduces, so does the amount you repay, meaning most people are barely covering the interest that accrues, and hardly eating into the amount owed at all."

A Barclaycard spokesman hit back stating: "We are doing this to help customers. This is an option we are giving to selected customers for them to be able to make a reduced minimum repayment for a limited period if the customer chooses to do so. We understand that some customers may appreciate this additional flexibility during the current economic circumstances.