The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s second issue of Credit Cards and
You includes 2001 statistics on Canadian credit card usage, which reveal a
10% increase in the number of Visa and MasterCard credit cards in circulation and a 5.9% increase in the number of accounts with unpaid balances.

Credit Cards and You is a quarterly update on interest rates and other developments for four major types of credit cards in Canada: Standard, Low-Rate, Retail and Charge Cards. Since December 1, 2001, five financial institutions have lowered their credit card interest rates: Bank of Montreal, CS Alterna Bank, CS CO-OP, Desjardins, and Scotiabank. Four institutions have been added to the comparison charts: Citibank, HSBC, MBNA and President’s Choice Bank.

“Consumers should pay their credit cards in full and on time if they can. If this is not possible, they should pay as much as they can, as early as they can,” advises FCAC Commissioner Bill Knight. “Paying in full and on time means you never pay interest. Making a partial payment early reduces the interest on the remaining debt,” he explains.