Credit Cards

AS 2011 closed, I completed my usual review of my family’s finances, especially our spending patterns given our income sources. What struck me was the increasing size of my credit card bills compared to those of previous years.

With the right approach, you can significantly improve your credit card situation. But to get the best deals, you’ll have to ask. It’s not that your credit card company deliberately wants to keep you in the dark. OK, maybe some do. But most major banks are pretty good about disclosing their terms and conditions on…

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — If we want to get the economy back on track, maybe we should pass a law that puts a cap on the interest rate banks can charge on credit cards. Doing so, according to proponents of the idea, would free up of billions of dollars that consumers could then use to inject…

Credit scores are an important fact of life: they dictate whether you can borrow funds, and what interest rates you’ll be offered for credit you qualify for. But, how does your credit rating affect your life without you knowing – and should it scare you?

THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) yesterday launched its ePrepaid card to expand its presence in the credit card industry.

We received more comments from our readers to this columnist’s view on credit card use (“Credit Card Debt Much Worse than Usury,” 29 August 2011). We are giving them space again, and also removing any reference to the concerned banks’ names.

There is a staggering amount of debt made by Filipino consumers arising from the use of “plastic” or credit cards. In the same breath, management of this debt continues to be a challenge.

Whoever said genies aren’t real? While they are no longer live in traditional magic lampts, they’ve moved to a smaller and more powerful house: the credit card. One swipe (you need to rub!) and you’ll get what you want. And unlike the old genies, the credit card will not ask you to trade your soul…

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s five largest credit card players have set up the Philippines’ first international private credit bureau, aiming to ease credit flow by reducing risk for lenders and lowering the cost of money for the “good” borrowers.

THE interest rates on credit card transactions must reflect the lending companies’ true annual charges of more than 40 percent—and not make consumers believe the rates they are paying are low—the Bangko Sentral says in its new transparency rules.

MANILA, Philippines — Ever received threatening phone calls from a credit card collection agent? How about calls in the wee hours of the morning or in the middle of the night? Worry not, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) actually has regulations that prohibit credit card issuers and their collection agents from engaging in unfair…

House approves on final reading MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a bill that would compel credit card firms to clearly indicate in their billing statements the high price that cardholders would have to pay, should they decide to settle only the minimum monthly amount due, and…

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 7, 2011) – The House of Representatives passed on third and final reading a bill that would compel credit card firms to clearly indicate in their billing statements the high price that cardholders would have to pay, should they decide to settle only the minimum monthly amount due, and…

“DON’T consider credit as debt; just look at it as a liability to be paid.” So goes the advice on a website offering tips on the “wise” management of credit cards. As you might have suspected, the site was set up by a credit card company. The play on words did get me thinking: how…

New changes to credit cards aim to give customers greater flexibility and control over their accounts. The changes, which came into effect in January and April of this year, will affect the order of payment and ban credit card cheques unless requested.

CREDIT CAP: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas stands firm on its position that letting market forces determine pricing serves public interest best and is the most effective way of allocating credit.

MANILA, Philippines – Credit card receivables of banks operating in the Philippines increased 4.7 percent last year amid the country’s stronger than expected economic growth, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.

FINALLY our sole monetary authority, the Bangko Sentral, has spoken against the pending bills in Congress that seek to impose ceilings on credit-card interest rates.

One of our readers, Zaide Capistrano, has asked about an anti-usury law after reading our last column “Capping Credit Card Charges.” Here is some background information in response to Capistrano’s query and for the benefit of other interested readers:

Are unrestrained credit card charges good for the credit card industry? Is the current rate of 42 to 45 percent per annum credit card charges not enough to satisfy credit card issuers’ profitability objective? Are these charges not high enough to stop card users from swiping their cards for expenditures beyond their means to pay?…

Banks are reducing some cardholders’ interest rates, thanks to a section of the credit card reform law that requires them to review any rate increases imposed since January 2009. Millions of consumers faced rate hikes that year, as the economy tanked, banks teetered, and credit card reforms loomed.

Amidst all the news about the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan as well as the troubles of migrant workers in the Middle East and North Africa, there is a local issue that should be interesting, if not equally important, to every Filipino especially small-time borrowers and entrepreneurs.

Congress seeking to put a cap on credit card interest rates appear to be very selective since they do not cover informal lending institutions which are free from the planned stiffer regulations on interest rates.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is lukewarm to the proposed imposition of a cap on interest rate charges imposed by credit card companies as the move could only introduce distortions in the credit market.

CREDIT card companies were warned Tuesday against mobbing their prospective customers to avail of their services, because not all people have the capacity to pay credit cards.

MANILA, Philippines – Banks and other credit card issuers warned congressmen yesterday that a cap on interest rates could force them to close their credit card business.

Capping interest rates on credit card loans can hurt credit availability badly. Some lawmakers are pushing for measures that would further regulate the credit card industry, including putting a ceiling on interest rates.

CREDIT RATES: Concerned consumers, meanwhile, are asking the House committee on banks and financial institutions to focus on making the terms more equitable for credit cardholders reeling from high prices and costly credit.

The number of credit cards in use in the Philippines rose to 6.5 million as of February this year, prompting Bangko Sentral to respond to growing complaints against abuses in the use of these cards.

THE Asian Development Bank on Monday asked President Benigno Aquino III to consider giving tax reductions to credit card holders to widen the use of credit cards in the country.