The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday released the results of a survey that showed wide discrepancies in the credit card interest rates offered to people with similar income levels and questioned the validity of banking institutions’ methods of evaluating how much credit to allow individuals.
The consumer rights watchdog said its recent survey of 49 individuals with stable employment and high salaries showed that despite their similar financial status, their credit card interest rates varied widely, from 5 percent to 20 percent.
The foundation said that interest rates may have a difference up to 9 percentage points for an individual who holds different credit cards from different banks.
A difference of as much as 10 percentage points can also occur for two individuals with similar purchasing power and credit history who hold credit cards from the same bank.
For example, the credit card interest rate can vary from anywhere between 11.74 percent and 20 percent for a doctor and an attorney who have similar credit histories, high earnings and hold credit cards from the same bank.
“The survey raises questions about whether banking institutions are conducting honest and fair credit checks and offering individuals appropriate credit card interest rates,” foundation chairman Hsieh Tien-jen (謝天仁) said.
The foundation also said that when cardholders make a minimum payment on their credit card rather than pay the full amount, it should not be a signal to banks that the individual has defaulted on the loan, neither should the bank use this as a reason to downgrade a person’s credit rating or up the person’s interest rate.
“The authorities should make credit information more transparent and investigate banking institutions’ methods of credit checking to ensure that customers are not charged interest at unreasonably high rates by banks,” Hsieh said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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