Credit Card News Nationwide voted most responsible credit card provider
Nationwide voted most responsible credit card provider 14 February 2008 Nationwide Building Society has received an award for "Most Responsible Credit Card Lending Practices" at this year's prestigious Card Awards, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London in January.
The Society was recognised for its transparency and clarity of credit card information, for its positive order of payments and for providing fee-free card use abroad.
Nationwide has been campaigning for greater clarity in the credit card market since 1999 when it became the first financial services provider to produce a Summary Box in its marketing literature. The industry has since adopted this comparison tool and now all providers are required by APACS to include a Summary Box in their marketing material.
Nationwide is the only major credit card provider that applies payments to the most expensive debt first across all its credit cards, saving customers  2.1 million in extra interest and helping them to reduce their debt faster. Jeremy Wood, Nationwide's director of consumer finance said:
We understand how difficult it can be for consumers to make the right card choice. This is why it is important that the information is presented to customers clearly to help them choose the card that best suits them.
We have long since championed responsible lending across all of our products and we are especially proud to have been recognised for our efforts in the credit card market. This, we believe, is another example of Nationwide's policies towards fairness and clarity bringing benefit to our customers."
Understanding how credit cards work
Join our Mailing List! Please click the link below to sign up for your community paper mailing list. Stay up to date with all the events going on in your community as well as the latest news. Sign Up Today! And when business is tough, they may offer deals "too great to pass up." Be careful. They may offer low or no interest for a certain trial period, but watch out for the hidden fees.
According to R.K. Local banks, such as Clay County Savings Bank and the Patriot Bank, do not have bank credit cards as such, but issue them through a third party. We collect an application fee as a third party participant," said Mario Usera, president and chief operating officer at Clay County Savings Bank. That’s all we do, and we do not service the account, and we don’t get involved in assessing fees or interest." It’s hard to avoid all the fees and still have a credit card, but some fees can be avoided.
Here are some tips that could save money and aggravation: Never use a credit card for a cash advance at an ATM. Card companies treat cash advances as loans and interest can run from about 8 percent to as high as 24 percent. Plus, you will pay a minimum fee on what you borrow, a fee to the bank issuing the credit card and maybe a fee for use of the ATM.
Convenient checks included with appealing low interest rates are treated like cash advances and subject to similar fees. Some companies charge a monthly maintenance fee whether you use your card or not. You should not have to pay for just holding the card.
Be wary of credit card companies that offer a special interest, say 2.9 percent annual percentage rate on balance transfers. There could be a transfer fee that might not make the transfer worthwhile. Another example: The transfer amount will be subject to only 2 percent. When you make your next payment, will it be applied to the low interest balance or the high interest balance? In most cases, credit card companies will apply it in their favor.
Resolve those questions before you make a decision. If you have a low interest credit card, a late payment can hike that interest rate up as high as 24 percent. In addition, many cardholder agreements allow the issuer to raise your interest rate if you pay any other creditor’s bill late.
Nearly 40 percent of card issuers say they regularly exercise these rights, according to the Institute for Consumer financial Education. Don’t ignore separate letters from credit card companies with "important information on your credit card account." The notices are usually in small print and difficult to understand. Many are saying your interest rate is going up, or there is an additional fee.
Some advise you of new federal regulations. Call your credit card company and ask for a simple explanation, or compare the interest rate you pay on your next bill with a previous bill. Credit card tips: Business Editor Gene Hanson can be reached at 389-6638 or ghanson npgco.com. Comments on "Understanding how credit cards work" Comments are limited to 200 words or less.