Barclays nets Goldfish

British banking giant Barclays today agreed a £35m (€46.8m) deal to buy the Goldfish credit card business.

The deal is set to add around 1.7 million customers to the bank’s 9.6 million Barclaycard card holders, if approved by competition authorities.

Goldfish was the first credit card firm to launch a loyalty scheme in 1996, rewarding customers with points to spend in selected high street stores.

However, its owner since 2006, US card issuer Discover Financial Services, is now quitting the UK amid increasing economic gloom.