http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/03/26/competition-credit.html
The federal Competition Bureau is investigating the credit card industry. The agency is looking at whether the credit card industry has breached the Competition Act by increasing their credit card fees. Many consumers have complained about the increase of credit card fees over the past few months. Mastercard Canada defended itself by stating that "the many benefits Canadian merchants receive from card acceptance continue to be downplayed." According to StopStickingItToUs Coalition's website, Canadian consumers paid more than $4.5 billion dollars in hidden credit card fees alone and that figure is increasing even more due to hidden fees attacked to credit card users. Mastercard has refuted these statements by stating that they do not receive revenue from interchange or merchant fees. The website also attacked the Australian cap on credit card fees banks can charge businesses and consumers.
Transactions involving money happen every single day for Canadians. To make transactions easier on people, credit cards were invented so that consumers would not have to carry so much money on them. Credit cards have changed the demand for money in recent years due to the increasing popularity in them. If Mastercard and other credit card companies continue to increase fees for using their credit cards, then the demand for carrying actual money for transaction will increase. Especially in times of economic uncertainty, people will try to save money in every way possible so if that means to use their credit card less frequently and carry cash out more then they will do that.
In the long run, using straight cash is the cheapest transaction you can make because there are no hidden fees attacked to using plain cash. Although i can see the convenience of having a credit card because of convenience and safety reasons. I personally prefer to use cash instead of credit cards because there is no additional fees and because i can visibly see how much money i am using as opposed to paying it off 30 days later. I do not think it is a secret that their are hidden fees in using credit cards but that is the price to pay for having convenience in my opinion.
2 comments:
I personally like using cash more than credit card too because I wouldn't have to pay for extra fees and creating a chance of being in debt. Ever since the economy downturn, I've been seeing many news about people being in debt because of credit card usage. Also, I even read in an article that teenagers are slowing down their rush to get a credit card. Although it seems like credit card is convenient, it is also risky and possibly not safe. In the end, I think cash is good for the consumers and also the business owners because they wouldn't have to worry about fraud cards. People should get debit cards instead because they can deposit their money into their accounts and earn interests.
Melissa Man
Block E
Hey! Personally, I don't own a credit card, and I don't really plan on getting one either.... 'cause I don't like to spend beyond my limits and end up paying a bill that will give me a heartache. And if I do get one, I would probably go crazy on a shopping spree...Bad!!!
And as you have mentioned in you blog, those tricky hidden fees are just a needle in the bum! And then you will have to go through all those annoying help service calls and trying to argue about something that even the credit card company itself cannot explain! What a waste of time and real $$$! Though it was very true that everything has a price, and the convenience of the credit card has an unavoidable one as well.
Post a Comment