CREDIT CARDS - KEY TO WOE, KEY TO OPULENCE OR JUST ANOTHER ACCESSORY!

Answer a simple question:

It is a unisexual product, kept by men and women, without which they cannot move out of the house/office so on and so forth?

Hint:  reasons for it can be disputed.

“What is it?”

“What did I hear?”

"Umm, some perfume",

"No, who carries a perfume everywhere!"

"Ah! I know a pair of Levi’s jeans, RIGHT?"

"One sec, don’t get excited!"

"Credit Cards?!"

“Don’t act smart, we will get down to that later”.

The right answer is -Wallet.

Undoubtedly not being biased, but men keep one out of requirement while the reasons why women keep are endless, in fact, at times the reasons are staggering. A wallet also acts as a first aid and/or make up kit too. The most you find in a man’s wallet is cards, cash and notes. Whilst in a woman’s wallet, you will find anything and everything, just name it and you’ve got it – lipstick, mascaras, and even pain killers!

"Hmm…so, that’s it!"

"This is what men and women keep in their wallets, did I fail to spot anything?” scratching my head which is not bald anymore.

I missed the most key fad, plastic money! The ultra slim, glossy, slim as razor blades, chicer than a size zero model and full of pulsating colors is our very own lovely credit card! The golden chip found nowadays on a credit card is for the purpose of “smart shopping”, such as using to make international calls on a jet, but it also ads a touch of elegance to the look of it, just what the cherry does on the top of the cake. How could I forget you!

The designs on credit card these days mystify my mind. Sometimes, I am in awe that these credit card firms have got psychologists instead of graphic designers because the design pattern on a credit card these days furnishes a breathtaking assortment of diverse feelings- delight, loyalty and royalty- which congregates towards the overriding feeling of all i.e. happiness. Also, it unquestionably uplifts one’s nose en route for the sky since it gives the emotion of having riches in excess as paying for shopping, meals travel and entertainment with just a swipe has made the entire experience trouble-free and simply overwhelming.

The way I see it at times, credit cards come with colossal gains, undoubtedly. First and foremost, definitely a fundamental advantage, it adds the most vital muscle, which many body builders would also resent – the muscle to purchase at will. Even if you don’t have cash, no worries, you have tripled the sums of your income in this teeny weensy little card, therefore, no need to ask for an advance from your boss anymore when you plan for a trip to Europe next time, “buy now, pay later” is the best policy! Anyways, back to the addition of this muscle in our system, interestingly, it develops ‘wings’ on to our body too (and no, I have not stolen that from Red Bull), which there on enables us to fly high and reach the world of luxury which we dream of. Voila, what an exciting innovation!

That’s not it, apart from the fundamental advantage, there are other benefits attached with this discovery of the 19^th century are the following. One, because of the cut-throat competition in the credit card industry, banks frequently offer incentives such as discounts, reward points, gift certificates, air-miles, meet – n – greet at airports, free stay at airport lounges or even CASH BACK i.e. usually around 1-2 percent of the total purchases to try to lure customers to their businesses.In other words you get rewarded for just carrying on your shopping spree.

Two, “low interest” credit cards or even 0% interest credit cards are available these days due to pull strategic business ethics. The only downside to users of low interest credit cards is that it is limited to a fixed term, between 6 and 12 months after which a higher rate is charged.

Three, most of the credit cards can also be used in an ATM to withdraw “real money" (yes, hard crispy notes) against the credit limit extended to the card which means one needs to fear about the shortage of crispy notes.

Four, credit cards have developed into a risky way for entrepreneurs to acquire capital for their enterprise when the doors to get conventional financing are shut down. It is rumored that Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s start up of Google was financed by credit cards to buy the necessary computers and office equipment, more specifically "a terabyte of hard disks". Furthermore, credit card companies offer small loans over the phone to its loyal customers at the press of few # buttons!

Five, many banks have tied up their services with companies related to telecommunications, internet, electricity, gas and water companies. Rather than standing in long ques, you can pay your bills on your favourite couch now by dialling a toll free number or through the internet, all because of the tiny invention, no hassles anymore!

Come to think of it, how did this small yet powerful thing came into existence?

Surely, must be a miracle!

I turn backed the pages of history to know more about credit cards, I was astonished to find the concept of using a card for purchases was described as early as in 1887 by Edward Bellamy in his utopian novel Looking Backward. Bellamy used the term credit card eleven times in this novel. In addition, the modern credit card was the successor of a variety of merchant credit schemes. It was first used in the 1920s, in the United States, specifically to sell fuel to a growing number of automobile owners. The old age connection of credit card with fuel is still intact today. For example, majority of the white collars and the middle class swipe their cards at fuel stations to save “cash in hand” for more important expenses and for the time of an emergency.


Well, the preceding example has made me wonder that “Credit cards bring more benefits than cash, but it needs to spend if that cash is in the pocket”.


Hmmmm…..

To come to think of it, if petrol is filled in the tank, then your car runs smoothly. But if its spilled on the car then it can even ruin your lovely car into ashes!

Hmm…

The question is – Has such a situation arise with this invention too?

The answer is a yes. Just like any invention in this century, credit cards also come with its fair share of cons. Many of the readers must be smarter than 5^th graders to know about the law of gravity i.e. you smash your bones when you fall down from a building , the “law of grace period” given by credit card firms works on the same model. If you don’t pay regularly within the grace period,  which is 20 – 30 days (depends from bank to bank), you will fall downwards in a ‘huge sticky web of debt’ where only ‘spider-man’ can come and rescue. In the West, “Spider-men” come in the form of debt reconciliation companies which help bankrupt and defaulters to pay back to the credit card companies, eventually taking them out of the mess they caused to get placed into the web in the first place. But unfortunately, in this part of the world, banks use the local mafia, because of the inefficiencies of law, to recollect bad debts, thus causing huge mental strain, at times depression and even suicide.

 

Furthermore, the menace of fraud has plagued numerous banking services and sadly it did not even spare the credit card industry. The reason is simple - the pathetic security of the credit card system presents infinite opportunities for fraudulent activities. Due to the spread of this disease it has given birth to a huge black market in stolen credit card numbers, which are generally used quickly before the cards are reported stolen. I thought it was a joke that the aim of the credit card companies is not to eliminate FRAUD these days but to reduce it to “manageable levels” so that “high-cost low-return” fraud prevention measures will not be used if their cost exceeds the potential gains from fraud reduction. That is not fair!

Let’s grab a globe and focus on Pakistan now. Due to high inflation and fluctuating petrol prices, the purchasing power of the citizens has reduced down considerably. Moreover, the constant flashing of luxuries in different mediums of media, it invokes the feeling of desiring to live in a comfortable yet materialistic world. Next, most apply for a credit card to enjoy those amenities which were banned for them as they were expensive of before. Thus, such dreams transforms into reality with the advent of plastic money in Pakistan.

Although one needs to pay high finance charges if one just pays the “minimum payment due” every month, but undoubtedly it gives the consumer the ease of making payments through monthly installments i.e. not to pay a lum sum anymore! Moreover, the health and accident insurance come along with a subscricption of a credit card makes this innovation too hard to resist. Thus, plastic money is certainly here to stay as this country is full of people with unfulfilled desires where credit card is the only hope.

Surprisingly, it’s a reality that credit cards have become a fashion accessory these days. It’s available in numerous designs, and believe it or not, you can now actually get your favorite picture printed on it thus reminding you of that precious moment everytime you go on a shopping spree. More, you can flash it infront of your peers to prove that how futuristic you are in the futuristic today.

At times negatively, it also instills the feeling of jealousy and pride simultaneously – jealous is the one who doesn’t own one and pride who owns more than one! But, that’s human nature, cannot blame credit cards for it bluntly. In the yesteryears, especially in Pakistan, young used to get married as soon as they turned young as the ones to get married the earliest were the luckiest. Fast-Forward to 2008, our generations gets hold of cell phones and supplementary credit cards, and the one to get these essentials the earliest are the luckiest. Surely, time changes everything, Is that what evolution is?

Anyways and importantly, one should remain cautious and spent wisely through credit cards otherwise these ‘devils of dooms’ will destroy the peace of our households. In simpler terms, if a credit card is used properly it changes the old saying ‘NO PAIN NO GAIN’ because if you don’t “pain” (burden) yourself with huge purchases then you just “gain again and again”! It implies that one should use this ‘product’ wisely because I find it as neutral as a hammer, it can either make you or break you, just like marriage or even facebook.


So everyone, here is my advice:


“To pay early is playing safe, so play safe to live safe”.

And, my definition of a credit card:

"CREDIT CARD - (noun) – A special card which inflates the pockets of a human being to take him/her to luxurious heights, then the human being falls down hard because late payments deflate the pockets."