Pros and Cons of Interest Free Credit Card : The Nigerian Dynamics.

THis is an adopted article. The title has been altered to suit the intention of this blog. It is not in anyway to discredit the original author, but to avoid a repeat of title on the web.

Guest post compiled by Ebipade Enienghan 

Recently, I  talked about the interest free credit card issued by Standard Chartered Bank, Nigeria. I did mention that one can have a 50-day credit from the bank-in a credit card-and spend and fully repay such sumswithout any additional cost.  I also promised I was going to talk about what charges that apply if repayment was not made in full on payment date. Today, I have decided to share the info with you. You will also hear about the penalties for default or late payment on the credit card.

Why did it take me this long to come back, you may wonder.

I must apologize for not publishing this earlier than now. I have already had a lot of enquiries on this credit card that this write up will help to clear. I have been away from home and have not had access to system for 3 days.

Before talking about the charges for part repayment on the credit card, I like to mention that there are actually two variants of the card, GOLD andPLATINUM cards. The distinction between these two cards is in theamounts/spending limits placed on the cards.

Whereas the GOLD CARD has a spending limit of between N50,000 and N749,999 the PLATINUM card has between N750,000 and N1,500,000.

For the sake of clarity it is not compulsory one must repay the entire spent sum before the end of the payment date. Card holders have options

One can repay in full or in part. If repayment is in part it must not be less than 1% or N5, 000 (whichever is higher)

You can take a look at my initial post about interest free credit card because I like us to consider again the same shopping situation.

The bank will charge flat rates on any outstanding amount on the card after the payment date. The rate is 2.35% or 2.7% on Platinum or Gold cardsrespectively.

Let’s assume that again I spent N110,000, received that statement on the billing date and repaid just N70,000 before or on the payment date. That leaves me with an outstanding balance of N40,000. An interest of 2.35% flat for PLATINUM or 2.7% for GOLD will be calculated and added to this outstanding sum. In addition, there will be 0.09% insurance fee on the outstanding amount to cover life or permanent disability/death.

These will be the balance in the next billing date unless we have made further withdrawals from the card after the last billing date. In that case, those withdrawals will be added to those outstanding balance, interest and insurance premium figures.

Lest I forget, there is a penalty of N3,000 for late payment. The cards also costs N6,000 or N10,000 per annum  for Gold and Platinum cardsrespectively.  I also need to mention that it is a VISA CREDIT CARD too.

Whether you want to repay in full and avoid charges or pay in part and face these charges is up to you. For me I have kept my discipline. I can’t choose for you.

In the next write up you will learn about what is required to get such a credit card as well as where you can use the card.

Original article culled from www.ogbongeblog.com