{"id":39727,"date":"2019-09-17T17:42:14","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T09:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=39727"},"modified":"2019-09-17T17:45:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T09:45:09","slug":"financial-jargon-buster-credit-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/financial-jargon-buster-credit-cards","title":{"rendered":"Financial Jargon Buster: Credit Cards Interest Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"
In partnership with\u00a0<\/p>\n
Own a credit card? Then you need to know how credit card interest works.<\/p>\n
When you make a purchase and don\u2019t repay in full within a certain period (usually 20 days), your bank will charge you interest.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the tricky bit \u2013 there are several types of interest rates. Curious about how they affect you? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n
The interest rate on your credit card (e.g. 15% p.a.) is the interest rate you have to pay when you carry over any balance on your credit card over the period of 1 year. This is the number that\u2019s shown on your credit card agreement, or on a credit card comparison page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some credit card issuers calculate your interest charges on a daily basis. This is calculated by taking your credit card\u2019s annual interest rate divided by the number of days in a year (365), and applying that to your credit card balance.<\/p>\n Okay, so you know that the advertised interest rate shows how much interest you will be charged if you carry over a balance on your credit card. However, you could end up paying more interest than that.<\/p>\n Effective 6th<\/sup>\u00a0August 2019, any unpaid balances in your credit card account (including prior interest charges) will incur interest as well. Therefore, a more accurate way to calculate your actual interest\/finance charge is through the effective interest rate (EIR). Here\u2019s an example of EIR calculation:<\/p>\n\n The example above shows that despite having an monthly interest of 1.25%, the EIR is actually 2.09% in the 2nd<\/sup> month because of unpaid balances from the previous month. This is why it\u2019s important to pay your credit card bills in full and on time.<\/p>\n There are many confusing financial terms out there, and credit card interest rates barely scratch the surface.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve explained more common financial jargon in easy-to-read language for you. Click here<\/a> for general financial terms, or click here<\/a> for terms you\u2019ll see when applying for a home loan.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
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\n\t \n\t A<\/td> Spend<\/td> RM1,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t B<\/td> Interest (1.25% a month)<\/td> RM12.50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t \u00a0<\/td> Total<\/strong><\/td> RM1012.50<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t \n\t \u00a0<\/td> Balance carried over<\/td> RM1012.50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t C<\/td> Spend<\/td> RM500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t D<\/td> Interest (1.25% a month)<\/td> RM18.91<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t \u00a0<\/td> Total<\/strong><\/td> RM1,531.41<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t E<\/td> Total spend (A + C)<\/td> RM1,500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t F<\/td> Total interest owed (B + D)<\/td> RM31.41<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t \u00a0<\/td> Effective interest rate (F \/ E)<\/strong><\/td> 2.09%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n What other financial terms do you find baffling?<\/strong><\/h2>\n