Human ingenuity knows no bounds. And if allowed to operate freely, many of us would behave irresponsibly and misuse/abuse the system to get undue advantage. Let us consider a hypothetical situation. We know credit cards allow an interest-free credit period. You have a credit card from Bank A. Let’s call this credit card A. You… Continue Reading
How do you make UPI payments? 3 broad ways. Link bank account to a UPI app: Your account gets debited, and the merchant/peer account gets credited. You can only spend the money in your account. Link RuPay credit card to a UPI app: Not Visa, not Mastercard. Only Rupay card. You get credit for UPI… Continue Reading
This sounds a bit strange since we usually associate credit cards with overspending and incurring unnecessary debt, which leads to financial strain and difficulty in managing finances. Then, how do credit cards figure here? Well, credit cards can be quite useful if you use them wisely and responsibly. Let’s first look at a question to… Continue Reading
You spend a big amount on your credit card. You do not have the money to settle the bill in full by the due date. You decide to pay off the debt over the next few months. That means you won’t pay the bill in full right away. You will keep paying whatever you can… Continue Reading
You open Amazon/Flipkart to purchase your favourite gadget. You notice you can get a discount if you pay using a credit card from a particular bank. And you get a higher discount if you purchase on EMIs using the same credit card. Interesting, isn’t it? Why higher discounts on EMI purchases? But first, why discounts… Continue Reading
The keyword here is “plan”. We don’t focus on instances when your big purchases are forced, say your mobile phone or laptop conks off suddenly. Or your bike or car is suddenly showing problems and the cost of repair is too high and not justified. There is not much you can do about such instances.… Continue Reading
Swiping a credit card is easy. Repaying credit card debt is not. There will be situations where your cashflows will be stretched and you won’t be able to pay your credit card bill in full. What do you do then? Will that affect your credit score? Well, if you read a card statement carefully, you… Continue Reading
EMIs make it easy and convenient to buy online. But even with EMIs, you have multiple options. You can opt for Instant EMIs (also called Merchant EMI) directly on the merchant website. Or you can pay the full amount upfront and later ask your bank to convert the purchase amount to EMIs. Which option is… Continue Reading
You do not pay any interest during the interest-free period on the credit card. But the bank cannot afford to lend you money for free. The bank must be compensated — two major ways and a few minor ways. High Interest on Unpaid Amount First, when you do not pay your bill on time, the… Continue Reading
While checking out from your favorite shopping app, you could get one of the following payment options on your credit/debit card or Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Full payment (no cashbacks or discount) Interest-based EMI (without cashback or discount) No-cost EMI Upfront discount Cashback Upfront discount/cashback and interest-based EMI Upfront discount/cashback and no-cost EMI Over… Continue Reading