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Date Published : Monday, September 22, 2008
A newly published survey of credit cards on the Australian market has highlighted that interest rates have held firm on the majority of offers.
Analysis of 146 products between September 14th and 21st showed that only nine had seen an increase in the interest rates offered.
Similarly, only two of the deals being promoted were subject to a decrease in rates.
Commenting on its findings, CreditMart.com.au said that the figures suggest that credit card providers are reluctant to pass on rate cuts following the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision to cut the interest rate.
Overall, the average purchase rate on cards examined was 16.6 per cent per year, with a cash advance rate of 17.91 per cent per year.
For standard cards, the purchase rate was 15.78 per cent per year, while the cash advance rate was 17.38 per cent. The 33 gold cards analysed had an average purchase rate of 18.38 per cent and a cash advance rate of 18.97 per cent, while platinum products had respective rates of 18.31 per cent and 19.66 per cent.
The news follows the RBA's publication of credit card and charge card transactions last week, which showed that the value of such exchanges increased by 3.5 per cent in July.
According to the study, Australian consumers are now paying more back on their credit cards, with repayments increasing by 7.1 per cent in the same month, taking the value of these transactions up to a collective $19.442 billion.
See the latest on the new Woolworths credit card.

- Finance News
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