Credit cards are a highly flexible and useful way of controlling expenditure and rasing short-term finance. Credit cards come from a range of providers. With a range of interest rate structures. Depending on your credit rating, credit cards can be a source of very low rate finance. Sometimes with a long 0% rate interest rate. In APR terms, annual percentage rate, the effective interest rate is 2 or 3% as most 0% schemes involve a 2 or 3% transaction fee. At the other end of the spectrum, credit cards for people with a low credit rating may well have APRs above 50%.
The global credit card business relies on 3 major transaction networks; Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Leading UK credit card brands include MBNA, Barclaycard, Egg and Tesco Personal Finance. The latter business was part of Royal Bank of Scotland until 2010.
