Mixed reactions to credit card rules
Geoffrey Blain
Issue date: 6/9/09 Section: Business
Among the other changes to credit card regulation are guaranteed advanced warning if interest rates are going to increase during the next period or if a penalty is to be imposed for missed payments. Credit card companies would also be forbidden from increasing interest rates without expressed written consent of the cardholder and restrictions have been put in place to limit debt collection practices that in the past have been used to threaten cardholders into paying their balance.
Canada's new credit card policies coincide with similar new regulations in the US, including a ban on distributing credit cards to individuals under the age of 21 unless they have considerable proof that they are able to repay the debt or are cosigned by a parent. Many were hoping Canada's regulations would be similar to the strict new rules announced south of the border.
Canadian Credit Card Statistics
Number of credit cards (Visa and MasterCard) in circulation in Canada in 1983: 12.1 million, or less than one card per Canadian adult.
Amount Canadians owed on their Visa and MasterCards by the end of 2003: $49.8 billion
Net retail sales via Visa or MasterCard in 2003: $150.49 billion
Annual interest on a Royal Bank Student Visa Classic: 17.9 per cent
Average Canadian household debt in 2004 through personal loans, lines of credit and mortgage debt: $69,450.00
Sources: Canadian Bankers Association; Statistics Canada; Financial Consumer Agency of Canada; CBC
Canada's new credit card policies coincide with similar new regulations in the US, including a ban on distributing credit cards to individuals under the age of 21 unless they have considerable proof that they are able to repay the debt or are cosigned by a parent. Many were hoping Canada's regulations would be similar to the strict new rules announced south of the border.
Canadian Credit Card Statistics
Number of credit cards (Visa and MasterCard) in circulation in Canada in 1983: 12.1 million, or less than one card per Canadian adult.
Amount Canadians owed on their Visa and MasterCards by the end of 2003: $49.8 billion
Net retail sales via Visa or MasterCard in 2003: $150.49 billion
Annual interest on a Royal Bank Student Visa Classic: 17.9 per cent
Average Canadian household debt in 2004 through personal loans, lines of credit and mortgage debt: $69,450.00
Sources: Canadian Bankers Association; Statistics Canada; Financial Consumer Agency of Canada; CBC
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