Credit cards and store cards

The advantage of using a credit card is that you don't have to carry large amounts of cash with you. The disadvantage of credit cards is that it makes impulse buying easier and you can spend more than you can afford before you realise.

General purpose credit cards include Bankcard, Visa and Mastercard. They allow you to purchase goods and/or services and get additional cash. You must repay at least a minimum amount back each month and this is normally a small percentage of the outstanding account balance. All credit card cash advances will attract interest from the time that the money is provided to you. If you pay only the minimum amount your card debt will take many years to pay off.

Some retail stores will issue their own cards. Generally, these cards can only be used within the group's stores. They usually don't have fees but the interest rates are generally higher then general purpose credit cards.

When you are given a credit card you will also be given a limit and you can spend up to that limit.

Note that some major store cards are now changing to store/Mastercards and can be used as a general purpose credit card.