More use of credit cards for everyday transactions

Visa cardsVisa cards.Photo: Pixabay

In recent years, more and more Norwegians began using credit cards for small purchases, according to a new analytical report.

The Consumer Council warned that it could lead to goods becoming more expensive.

‘During the past two years the use of credit cards for everyday, small purchases increased by 25-30 percent, albeit at a relatively low level’, said principal analyst, Johan Morling, of Eurocard to the newspaper Aftenposten.

The credit card company made the survey among 100,000 Nordic users for the years 2014-2016.

Morling believes the reason to be that many food chains have opened the way for their customers to pay by credit card. This is confirmed by Norway Group, who saw the use of credit cards increase by 7 per cent last year.

Technical director of finance in the Consumer Council, Jorge B. Jensen, warns against the increased use of credit cards for everyday commerce.

‘Firstly, there is a risk of unwanted and unnecessary debt accumulation by households. Secondly, shops pay considerably more to use the system for international credit cards than other systems, such as BankAxept, which provides account-to-account payments.

The credit system is up to ten times as expensive as BankAxept for shops, and customers ultimately pay a charge in the form of more expensive goods. Credit card companies serve as an expensive middleman between retailers and customers’, said Jensen.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today