Put simply, a credit card is just a small piece of plastic that easily fits in your wallet. Well, it's not 'just a piece of plastic'; it's a very powerful piece of plastic which can be regarded as a compressed form of cash. We can define credit cards as a credit system that allows the consumer to borrow money on the fly from a bank or a financial institution and use it to make payments to the merchants.
In order to obtain a credit card, the consumer needs to fill-in an application form that is actually like an agreement between the credit card supplier and the credit card consumer. The credit card supplier approves the application form and provides the consumer with a small piece of plastic (i.e. the credit card). This plastic (or credit card) contains electronically encoded security information in the form of a magnetic strip (which is generally located at the back of the credit card). This information is used for authorising payments whenever the consumer uses the credit card. The consumer can use the credit card for shopping at merchant outlets or on the internet etc. Of course, this is subject to merchant's capability to accept credit card payments. Accepting the credit cards is, however, not enough. The merchant should be able to accept payments made through the credit card provided by that credit card organization (of which you hold the credit card) i.e. VISA, MasterCard etc. You can also use credit card to withdraw cash from ATMs (automatic cash machines) - also known as cash machines or Day/Night machines.
There are eight main credit card organisations and most of them operate in a lot of countries world wide. These are American Express, Citi, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard and VISA. Master card and VISA are probably the most popular ones. Then there are credit card suppliers or issuers who have tie-ups with these organisations and issue credit cards on their behalf e.g. you have various banks that issue VISA cards (like HSBC VISA card) To make a payment using a credit card, the credit card has to be either swiped into special credit card processing machine (when shopping in person at shops) or the details of the credit card have to be entered on the merchant's website (when shopping online). The credit card supplier sends across the bill for these transactions to the consumer who is then required to pay either the full amount or a partial (minimum) amount. If you pay in full, the credit card supplier doesn't charge any interest on the amount you owe, otherwise the pre-agreed interest rate is charged. If you don't pay even the minimum, you might land up with a late fee too. Moreover, the credit card supplier generally puts a limit on the maximum amount you can spend per month using your credit card.
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There is no particular way how people land into trouble by misusing their credit cards. These are actually common mistakes committed by them either knowingly or unknowingly. The first is getting a credit card with a limit that you just cannot repay back. Some people are unable to manage their debts well and always have an illusion that there is enough money as their limit. They forget that they have to pay charges on the card. In a few months they cross the maximum permitted limit. The result is that they spend years repaying the credit card.
In the realm of credit card application another common mistake is applying for too many cards at the same time. There are many of you who are not content with one credit card which have in most cases crossed its limit. You jump at the slightest opportunity to grab a new credit card if it is offered to you. You never learn from your previous experience. You just rush in to get another to buy things you couldn't buy with your earlier card because you had to save money to repay the charges of your first card. In this way you ask for more trouble you can possibly handle.
Take the case of the cash advance function of credit cards. This function enables you to get around 50 days interest free credit on your purchases. However with this option you have to pay interest from the very first day. You are committing a blunder if you use your credit card to pay for your day-to-day purchases. Do not choose credit cards with high interest rates thinking that you would be paying only paying the minimum repayment. The interest rates are so high that it will take you years to repay the debt and you will end up repaying the debt many times over in the form of interest payments.
Most people like you have the habit of using the credit card to its maximum limit. If you do so you are living beyond your means. There would be no hope of repaying the debt without changing your debt management skills and this cannot be possible as it is inherent. Another grave mistake is late payments of credit cards interest. Interest rates climb very fast on late payments and coupled with set fees you are bound to go bankrupt. No doubt this is a very profitable situation for credit card companies but for you it would be very unfortunate. Most of you tend to ignore checking your credit card statement out of fear because you are already feeling the pressure of a debt. You know that debt exists in the first place and it is increasing. The situation detoriates as the fees and charges start to accrue making you unable to pay even the minimum repayments. Thus you are subjected to more fees and charges.
When you apply for a credit card from credit card hub do not be hasty in reading the credit card agreement. Most of you do not read the terms and conditions of the agreement as such you are not aware of certain things that you should not be doing and at the end you are likely to pay for it.
Both Jenny Styles & Navanita Hazarika are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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