A number of people do not even take a moment to compare credit card rates prior to selecting and submitting an application for one. Or those folks who do take the time to compare credit card rates, but still do not choose the card with the best rates and lowest overall fees and charges? We all do things we know we shouldn’t, but when it comes to our finances, we should especially try harder not to do anything we can already foresee will only lead to financial stress. If you are prudent enough to do some computation first, you will be shocked by the sum of money you will needlessly lose with this careless decision. So don’t be in a rush to apply for credit cards or to respond to appealing marketing promotions. Complete your credit card comparison study first, and more importantly, only send your applications for cards you have thoroughly checked will give you a great deal.

Interest rates usually vary from country to country, and also for every bank. Like in the United States for instance, credit card rates are from 7 to 39%, while in South Africa interest rates can range from 9% to over 35%. On the other hand, there are also countries who have almost similar interest rates.

It is also plain that the choice of card depends on the consumers themselves and what type of card will work best for them But for the purposes of this article, only credit card rates for banks in South Africa will be compared. To help start your comparison survey, we will enumerate the differences in interest rates in South Africa.

Virgin Money in 2007, first launched in the South African market, consumer friendly credit cards that did not charge any annual fees, swipe fees, online services fee, and transaction fees. Moreover, Virgin Money paid the highest interest rate (9%) on a card holder’s positive balance. And at the end of each month, customers are given a ‘grace period’ of 25 days to settle their outstanding debt, after which they will be charged about 20% p.a. interest on their debt. Virgin Money’s interest rates are also linked to the movement of the repo rate of the South African Reserve Bank.

In addition, based on the data when we researched this article, Nedcor charges an interest rate of around 31.5% p.a. While First National Bank or FNB charges an interest rate of 31% for regular cards and 29.5% for its gold cards. Moreover, Barclaycard Visa Credit Card and Barclaycard Prime Visa Credit Card charge between 13.9 to 17.5% and 12.4 to 17.5% respectively p.a. Also with Barclaycard, card holders get access to a budget facility that allows them to buy in installments of six months to two years; and up to 57 days of interest-free credit; ATM full service (withdrawals, deposits, balance enquiries and mini statements) and many more.

Based on this discussion, we can come to the conclusion that Barclaycard offers the best interest rate on credit cards for their customers but, there is still the need to look at other card features before deciding.There are still other important factors to examine such as bank fees and charges, and what pays the highest credit interest if you have a positive balance. But for now Barclaycard seems to offer the best option to people in South Africa when it comes to having the lowest interest rates.

To find out more information on how to compare credit cards go ahead and click here.