CREDIT CARD MINIMUM PAYMENTS TO DOUBLE
May 9, 2005
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According to Crystal Gomoke with Consumer Credit Counseling Service, “The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has asked credit card companies to increase the minimum monthly payment they are requiring consumers to pay from 2 percent of the balance each month to 4 percent of the balance,” KCBDNews.com reported. Gomoke says the average consumer has $10,000 in credit card debt, which means they pay $200 minimum and, with this increase, they’ll pay $400.
The reason the government has pushed for this change is that a quarter of all credit card holders pay only the minimum monthly payment each month, Gomoke explains, “If you pay only the minimum payment on credit cards each month, you’ll be paying on them for an average of 30 years. This is trying to get it down to a point where you will pay off debt in a reasonable period of time, closer to 10 to 12 years.”
