 |
 Expanding Your Financial Parameters/HorizonsEase of Spending Without Incurring High Interest RatesIncrease Your Spending Power At Low Rate
|
News |
5th December 2007 Two high street providers are reducing the interest-free period available to cardholders who pay their balance in full each month. Their customers are in for a nasty surprise after the festive season, writes Emma Simon. How to make the most of your credit cards Millions of NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customers are set for a New Year shock when they open their credit card bills in January. Many will find that they now have days - as opposed to weeks - to pay off their Christmas debts if they want to avoid interest payments and hefty late payment charges. From January 1, the banking group - NatWest is a subsidiary of RBS - is slashing the interest-free period available to many of its customers. Controversially, these changes will affect only those who pay off their credit card bill in full each month. The bank denies that it is penalising prudent customers who use their credit card to manage their cash flow rather than run up expensive debts. There have been concerns about the timing of these changes and the clarity of information given to those affected. RBS has written to all cardholders informing them that the terms and conditions are changing, but details of the changes are buried in the small print. The changes affect all RBS, NatWest and Mint cardholders who clear their credit card balance in full each month. In total RBS has 11m credit card holders, including other brands. The bank refuses to say what proportion of these cardholders clear their bills in full each month, but industry figures suggest that more than half of all credit card customers never pay interest. Currently, all RBS cardholders have about 25 days from the date a credit card statement is issued before payment is due. But from the New Year some customers could find that they have just 15 days to settle their bill before interest charges are added. |