For every RD$100 consumed with credit cards, RD$135 was financed, as reported in Diario Libre. Last year interest rates were on average 79.2% a year. This year the Superintendence of Banks has ordered a reduction in interest rates that are gradually declining to reach 54% by 2015. Central Bank statistics show that Dominican cardholders used their cards for transactions reaching RD$14.4 billion in 2013. Of this total, RD$19.53 billion was financed.
Diario Libre interviewed people and learned that in general many cardholders use their credit because they are unaware of the high cost and others because they have lost control over their spending.
One cardholder, Australia Santos, said that she has stopped using her cards because she would spend more than she should. I was a compulsive buyer,” she said. Another said that she has a card but does not know the cut-off date or how much it pays in interest rate.
Another interviewee, Edwin Corporan, believes the cards are good when paid on time. Ricardo Mendez commented because of the high interest charged they were “robbery.” But he said they are also an excellent purchasing medium and that he uses his card for online purchases. He said the trick was knowing how to use them.
The Superintendence of Banks has developed a personal finance management consumer education program.
www.diariolibre.com/destacada/2014/01/24/i451891_los-tarjetahabientes-financiaron-135-pesos-por-cada-100-consumidos.html