New poll shows Australians pay too much credit card interest

/in /by

Police Bank urges Members and the Community to get a better credit card deal after new research revealed many Australians didn’t know the interest rate they were paying over Christmas.

An Essential Research poll on Christmas shopping habits showed Australians use credit cards to buy Christmas presents but few people know what the interest rate is.

The report commissioned by the Customer Owned Banking Association found Australian consumers could have avoided a big credit card bill by finding out more about the better rates available.

“The research shows that people are unsure about the best deals and the current interest rates they pay,” said Bruce Williams – Police Bank CEO.

“We don’t want our Members forking out for excessively high credit card rates. At Police Bank we offer a low rate on our award winning Visa Credit Card.

At and up to 55 days interest free our card offers real value for our Members, a fact recognised recently by the rating agencies Mozo and Choice magazine."

The Essential Research poll of 1000 people, commissioned by COBA found:

  • Australians buy 7 Christmas presents and spend $570 on average;
  • More than a third describe paying for Christmas presents as “stressful”;
  • 65% don’t know who has the lowest credit card interest rates;
  • Around half said “Don’t Know” when asked the current rate they pay.

The research found a significant proportion of younger Australians wrongly think the big four banks offer the best rates - 16% of people aged 18-34 nominated the big 4 banks compared to just 7% of those aged 55 and over.

"We offer competitive deals on home loans, personal loans and credit cards, so there’s simply no reason to pay high interest rates," said Bruce Williams - Police Bank CEO.

"At the start of the year I’d encourage people to take some time to compare the rates, products and customer service on offer and get a more competitive deal."

Stop paying for reward points you can never use, instead reward yourself with a low rate of on our award winning Visa Credit Card.