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New research shows Australians are paying too much credit card interest

Announcement posted by Beyond Bank Australia 03 Feb 2015

29 January 2015
Beyond Bank Australia is advising Australian residents to review their credit card interest rates to ensure they are getting the best deal, after new research revealed many Australians didn’t know the interest rate they were currently being charged.

The report commissioned by the Customer Owned Banking Association on Christmas shopping habits found Australian consumers could avoid bill-shock from their credit card statements by finding out more about the better rates available. 

Beyond Bank’s General Manager Corporate Services, Nick May said the research demonstrates that consumers are unsure about the best credit card deals on offer and the current interest rates they are paying.  

“We provide our customers with access to high value products and services, and offer competitive home loans, personal loans and credit cards, so there’s simply no reason to pay high interest rates.”

“In fact our Low Rate Visa Credit Card was recently awarded “Best Transactor Credit Card” by Money Magazine in their annual Best of the Best awards, for its interest-free period of up to 62 days and its advertised rate of 10.49%,” Mr May said.

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 major four banks offer the best rates - 16% of people aged 18-34 nominated the major 4 banks compared to just 7% of those aged 55 and over.  

“I would certainly encourage people to take the time to compare their current rates with the other rates, products and customer service on offer and get a more competitive deal,” said Mr May.