| A plastic payment card that allows the owner to obtain goods and services without the requirement to pay cash, on credit terms. Transactions during a month are totalled and presented to the card holder for settlement on a monthly basis. Alternatively a percentage of the outstanding amount can be paid and the balance extended to the next month and so on. This will normally incur a much higher annual rate of interest than usual, for example, 2% per month is equivalent to an annual percentage rate (APR) of 26.8%, when standard secured loan rates are much lower. In addition to obtaining goods, credit cards can be used to obtain cash.
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