Why credit card?
Everyone should have a credit card. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using a credit card:
BENEFIT:
1. Spend now, pay later: In case of emergency or when you don't have money on hand, a credit card will help you pay for your shopping expenses (a credit card can be a backup plan for special cases).
2. Interest-free short-term spending: You have up to 45 days interest-free to pay your bank (some even go up to 55 days). You won't have to pay any additional fees if you pay on time.
3. Convenient spending: Instead of using cash, you can use a credit card to make purchases with a swipe or you can also link the card to apps (samsung pay ...) to shop.
4. Enjoy many preferential programs for cardholders: Many credit cards of banks are linked to e-commerce sites, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels... can save from 5-20% on each transaction by credit card. There are many preferential programs exclusively for cardholders that you can learn more about yourself.
5. Spending management: When using a credit card, you will receive a monthly statement of your spending or you can actively track your shopping history to balance your spending and control your finances appropriately.
6. Buy in installments with 0% interest: Currently, there are many types of credit cards that support 0% interest installment purchases. You can own your dream items such as computers and phones quickly without having to pay interest on installment purchases.
For example: You buy product A for 50,000,000 VND with a 0% installment credit card for 12 months, then each month you only have to pay nearly 4,200,000 VND/month (no fees).
7. Online shopping: With a credit card, you can register for Internet Banking and shop online at home to take full advantage of the incentives for credit card holders.
8. Credit score: When you spend a lot and pay your debts on time, your credit score at CIC will increase and upgrade your credit rating. With a high credit score, it will be easier for you to work with banks to borrow money to buy a house, buy a car, invest in real estate... (young people should improve this credit score to prepare for the future, to access capital from banks more easily)
ADVERSE
1. Information risk: Although the card is integrated with EMV, when paying (swiping POS card), it does not require PIN entry, so if you lose your card and do not promptly report the card lock, others can easily get the information and use the money in your card.
2. High interest rate for late payment: If payment is late, customers will have to pay high interest rates, equal to the interest rates applied by financial companies, and may even be higher if they are involved in late payment and bad debt.
3. Fees for using the card:
Annual card maintenance fee: The annual fee for using a card is quite high. For international bank cards, customers will have to pay from 300,000 to 500,000 VND, and domestic banks will be around 50,000 to 100,000 VND. If customers are using a bank card with a high annual maintenance fee, make sure that the benefits they receive are higher than the maintenance fee. If not, switch to cards with lower fees.
High cash withdrawal fees: You can use your credit card to withdraw cash, but you should not abuse this. Because when withdrawing money from your credit card, you will have to pay additional fees and be charged interest at the time of withdrawal: The cash withdrawal interest rates currently applied by Vietnamese banks range from 1 to 4% (depending on the regulations and policies of each bank).
4. Penalty for overspending: When using a debit card, if you have spent more than the bank's limit, the bank will automatically remind you and not allow you to spend more. But for credit cards, when customers spend more than the limit, you will have to pay a penalty. This penalty will be directly deducted from the money in your card (you should carefully research this issue before opening a card).
=> In my opinion, credit cards are quite useful as a backup plan for financial problems, installment purchases... especially for upgrading credit card credit scores. Even more special is that you can buy products in installments at SiliconZ .
SOME CREDIT CARDS OPEN ONLINE
As of this writing on October 12, 2021. You can find out at the link below.
1. Credit card ANCHOR belong to VIB. See details here
2. Citibank credit card. Card details Rewards see here Card details Cashback see here
3. Credit card VP Bank. See details here
BUY ON INSTALLMENT AT SILICONZ
Currently, SiliconZ is implementing installment purchase for ergonomic tables and chairs. In the near future, SiliconZ will implement it for the remaining products.