What is a Credit Card?
Credit Cards, be they Mastercard or Visa, are one of the most recent developments in the banking industry that has revolutionized the personal banking sector. Besides avoiding the painful process of carrying cash wherever you go, credit card companies have simplified internet banking and purchases, thus leading to a new sector in finance known as e-commerce.
Even though companies such as paypal specify in the same field, credit cards have an upper hand in terms of usage. It is easy to get a credit card and using it on any of the merchant websites is a walk in the park.
Getting to the basics, a credit card is a simple plastic card that consists of a magnetic strip that has the capacity to hold sufficient information about the user including his name, card number, etc. Each credit card has a credit limit, which is cash limit that the user is entitled to and can be used at merchant shops or withdrawn as cash through ATMs found at various parts of the country.
These credit cards can also be used outside Canada, in any other country as long as it has a Mastercard or Visa logo on it. Usage of the card outside the country of origin will invite certain bank charges along with currency exchange charges. This means that even if the purchase is made in US dollars, the credit card statement will reflect the purchase in Canadian currency.
Prepaid cards or Debit cards are similar to credit cards in the way they are used. However, when it comes to the way banks handle them, they are quite different. Prepaid cards do not have a credit limit for each customer. The limit depends on the amount the user deposits in his or her account.
The customer then can make use of this amount through the prepaid card without having to pay an additional transaction fee. This type of card will boost one's credit on one hand and will give the bank more confidence in awarding the customer with a credit card with a fairly decent credit limit.
Building Up Your Credit History
If one would like to improve his or her credit, he can do so by starting a savings bank account, if he or she doesn't hold one in the first place. It would help one's credit if monthly bills are paid through this savings bank account. These bills have to be paid in time, of course, to maintain a healthy credit. Also, the account holder can apply for a small loan and remember to pay the installments on time.
This will tremendously boost one's credit, as credit analyzers will surely look for the timings of payments and any delay in minimum payments will be noted and can pose as a threat to an otherwise good credit.
What is a credit Card?
A primary card holder must make sure he is responsible with his card. Since the credit card is an access to a very good amount of money, any loss can pose a danger to the customer in case the finder misuses it. Thus, if the card is lost or stolen, the customer must not delay in contacting the customer care and blocking his or her card and transferring his funds to a new card.
SEE ALSO
credit card
credit card agreement
credit card application
credit card company
credit card consolidation
credit card debt
credit card insurance
credit information
credit inquiry
credit limit
credit rating
credit report
References
External Links
TD Visa
CIBC Visa
RBC Visa
ScotiaBank Visa
BMO MasterCards
MBNA MasterCards
CapitalOne MasterCards
American Express Canada
HomeTrust Visa Canada
ScotiaBank
