Credit Cards

• What fees are charged on your credit card?
• Understand your credit card statement
• Some terms that you should know
• What is a Credit Bureau?
• What happens when you don't pay your bills on time?
• What must you do if there are errors on your credit card statement?
• Prevent fraud on your credit card

What fees are charged on your credit card?
Interest
When a credit card bill is not paid in full, or if any cash were drawn from the card account, it would attract some interest charges calculated from the date of the transaction until the date of settlement. The rate of interest charged is given in your credit card statement as a monthly rate and/or as an Annual Percentage Rate (APR). The APR is the cost of credit, which can be dynamic or fixed.

Balance
Adding your daily balances during the billing period, and dividing it by the number of days in that specific time, gives you your Average Daily Balance.

When the payments you make are subtracted from your balance at the beginning of the billing period, you get your Adjusted Balance. Through this, you pay less interest.

Previous Balance refers to your balance at the beginning of the billing period. Purchases or payments made subsequently are not included. On the other hand, the Ending Balance is your balance at the end of a billing period. Needless to say, it includes all purchases and payments during the billing period.

Fees
Credit cards are subject to Annual fees - the yearly cost of owning a credit card. This will be added to your balance when you get your credit card, and every following year subsequently, at the same time.

When a payment does not reach the card company on time, Late Fees are charged. This is entirely avoidable, as late payments can harm your credit history, making it harder to get credit in the future. Make sure your payments are made on time. Check out the online payment option, which usually posts your payment to your account within 24 hours.

Other fees can include charges when a credit limit is exceeded, when payments are returned, or even for requests to stop payment. Most of these can be avoided.

Understand your Credit Card statement

Some Terms that you should know
1. What is the difference between account balance and minimum amount due?
Your Account Balance is your total account debt as of the statement date, which includes any unpaid balances, new purchases, cash advances, apart from other charges such as fees and charges. Your Minimum Amount Due is the absolute minimum you must pay and the date by which you must pay it to keep your account current. It is a good idea to always try and pay back substantially more than your minimum due. This will help open up your spending limit and improve your credit rating.

2. What is a cash advance?
A cash advance is a short-term loan. This will have a one-time transaction fee in addition to finance charges that start to accrue immediately. The APR (Annual Percentage Rate) for cash advances is often higher than for purchases. It is therefore not a good idea to use cash advances to meet ordinary living expenses, to buy now rather than wait, to make a down payment or to pay other credit card bills. By the time you get your bill, you will owe more than you advanced yourself in cash!

3. How do I get a cash advance?

• You can get it on your Card, and withdraw the money through the ATM: With your card and your personal identification number (PIN), you can request anytime, anywhere!

4. What is a grace period?
The grace period is the number of days you have to pay your bill in full without triggering any interest. For example, you may have “25 days from the statement date, provided you paid your previous balance in full by the due date.”
The grace period usually applies only to new purchases, and not for cash advances or balance transfers. Instead, interest charges start right away.

5. What is a Credit Report / Credit Score?
A credit report is based on your credit history-that is, whether or not you have paid your bills on time. This information, gathered from banks and other creditors, includes monthly Credit Card and loan payment information. A credit score helps predict how creditworthy you are - how likely it is that you would repay a loan and make payments when due.

Customer Information shared by Financial Institutions
Credit Information Report (CIR) is a factual record of a borrower's credit payment history compiled from various sources. The information shared by us with benefit includes sanctioned amounts, current balances, amounts over due, suit filed status reports, delinquency status reports and demographic details like name, address, unique identification numbers (passport number, National ID) and date of birth.

Customer Impact
It is your responsibility to keep your account current and pay your dues on time, to maintain a fair credit history and enjoy the benefits of other financial products. With a credit rating agency in place, responsible customers can expect faster and more competitive services at better terms. Any defaults would also be recorded and would in turn affect any customer's credit worthiness.

What happens when you don't pay your bills on time?
If you decide to revolve credit, or carry forward a balance, the credit card company levies interest charges on the unpaid balance from the payment due date until you make the payment. The rate of interest charged is given as a monthly rate and/or as Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which can be verified in your credit card statement. The APR is the cost of credit, and can be dynamic or fixed.

What must you do if there are errors on your credit card statement?
Read your credit card statement carefully and check all the transactions that you have been billed for. If there is a dispute, you must inform the bank within 30 days of the statement date.

Prevent fraud on your credit card
Credit card, ATM and Internet fraud can often be prevented. Most thieves use stolen credit cards within 48 hours. Call the Bank immediately to report your lost card. On the 24/7 phone banking services.

Keeping your credit safe

• Always know where your cards are and keep them in a safe place.
• Do not give your account number over the phone unless you know the company and you made the call.
• Do not sign blank charge slips.
• Always check receipts against your monthly statements. Errors must be reported within 30 days of the statement mailing date.
• Record card numbers, expiration dates and phone numbers. Keep this record in a safe place separate from your cards. Use it if you need to report lost or stolen cards.
• Never put your account number or personal identification number (PIN) on the outside of an envelope or postcard. Never put your PIN on the card or in your wallet.
• Carry only the cards you need, especially when travelling.

The Internet
Shopping on the Internet has become a multi-million dollar business. Most Internet sales are safe, but as Internet purchases have increased, so have incidents of online credit card fraud. There are, however, several steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of online credit card fraud.

Use your E-card (internet only Credit card)

• Try to deal only with reputable companies. Make sure the web site you access has a physical address and a phone number you can call for additional information.
• Shop at sites that offer secure ordering. Most major Internet shopping sites take security precautions. While on the checkout page of a shopping site, see if the site uses a secure server before you give out your credit card information. If the URL (web address) starts with "https://" then the site uses a secure server.
• Be sure to deal with companies that post their privacy policy on their web sites and read the privacy policy. While some web sites may ask for personal information, the only information a merchant needs to process an order is the name on the card, the credit card number and the expiration date.