A credit card allows cardholders to pay for goods and services with the promise to pay for them later. It provides convenience over other payment methods like debit cards or checks. For merchants, credit cards are more secure than cash and reduce processing costs. There is typically a grace period of 20-55 days before interest is charged on purchases, allowing customers to pay their balance in full each month without interest. Different credit cards have varying interest rates, annual fees, rewards programs, minimum payments, and grace periods. While credit cards provide benefits like rewards, their disadvantages include potential interest charges and fraudulent activity risks.

1. Credit Card
By, Vaishnavi

2. Meaning
• A credit card is a payment card issued to users as a
system of payment. It allows the cardholder to pay for
goods and services based on the holder's promise to
pay for them.

3. Elements of Credit card

4. Benefits to the Customers
• The main benefit to each customer is convenience.
• Compared to debit cards and cheques, a credit card
allows small short-term loans to be quickly withdraw.
• Different countries offer different levels of protection.
• Grace days
• offfers

5. Advantage to the
Merchants
• More secure than other forms of payment
• They discourage theft by the merchant's employees and
reduce the amount of cash on the premises.
• Finally, credit cards reduce the back office expense of
processing cheques/cash and transporting them to the
bank.

6. Grace Period
• A credit card's grace period is the time the customer has
to pay the balance before interest is assessed on the
outstanding balance.
• Grace periods may vary, but usually range from 20 to 55
days depending on the type of credit card and the
issuing bank.
• There are some credit cards that will only apply finance
charge.

7. ICICI Bank Preferred Gold Credit
Card
Purchase Interest Rate: 3.15% p.m
Cash Withdrawal Rate: 3.15% p.m
Annual Fee: No Rewards: Yes
Min. Monthly Payment: 5
Grace Period: 20 to 50 days
Barclays Bank Smart Budget Credit
Card
Purchase Interest Rate: 2.95% p.m
Cash Withdrawal Rate: 0.00% p.m
Annual Fee: No Rewards: No
Min. Monthly Payment: Rs. 400
Grace Period: 50 days
Jet Airways Citibank Platinum
Credit Card
Purchase Interest Rate: 3.19% p.m
Cash Withdrawal Rate: 2.50% p.m
Annual Fee: Yes
Rewards: Yes
Min. Monthly Payment: 5%
Grace Period: 30 days
State Bank Cash Plus ATM-cum-
Debit Card
Purchase Interest Rate: 0.00% p.m
Cash Withdrawal Rate: 0.00% p.m
Annual Fee: Yes Rewards: No
Min. Monthly Payment: NA
Grace Period: Not Applicable
SBI Platinum Credit Card
Purchase Interest Rate: 3.10% p.m
Cash Withdrawal Rate: 3.10% p.m
Annual Fee: No Rewards: Yes
Min. Monthly Payment: 5% of
outstanding balance or Rs 200,
whichever is higher
Grace Period: Upto 50 days
HDFC Bank Titanium Credit Card
Purchase Interest Rate: 2.65% p.m
Cash Withdrawal Rate: 2.50% p.m
Annual Fee: Yes Rewards: Yes
Min. Monthly Payment: 5%
Grace Period: 50 days

8. Disadvantages
• Rate of Interest
• Charges on processing
• Fraudulent Activities

9. Difference between Debit
and credit Card
• The basic difference between the two is the fact that a credit
card takes the form of a personal loan from the issuing bank
to the consumer, while a debit card is more like a cheque:
money is directly deducted from a person’s bank account to
pay for transaction.
• A debit card can be used to withdraw money from an ATM
with no processing charge.
• Debit cards provide access to ready money in a more
convenient and less invasive form than cheques, and allow for
a faster withdrawal of cash.
• Credit cards allow for cash back and bonus points schemes
that a debit card is not eligible.