Bank ups credit card interest fees for gamblers
Online gambling has become a booming industry in the UK as well as abroad, and many consumers in the UK spend a small fortune each year on online gambling, often using their credit cards in order to fund this form of entertainment. However, for customers that have a credit card through the HSBC bank, this is a habit that is going to become costlier than ever, with the bank’s announcement that interest fees on online gambling transactions made with the credit card will now be charged at the same rate as cash advance rates as opposed to regular purchase interest rates as before.
As a result of the increased rates for online gambling transactions, consumers will be charged between 21.9% and 27.8%, whereas the interest rate for purchases stands at between 15.9% and 22.9%. There will be no one off fee charged, however, which is something that is charged on other cash transactions. HSBC is the latest UK bank to up the interest rate charges on their credit cards for those using the card in order to perform online gambling transactions.
It was recently reported by the BBC that many of the high street banks in the UK were becoming unsettled with regards to the rising number of bad credit card debts that were arising as a result of consumers using their cards to run up massive debts on online gambling sites, and then being unable to repay the balance on their cards. However, according to a spokesperson for the HSBC this is not the reason for the interest rate hike for online gamblers.
The spokesperson stated: "We have not seen that as part of our customers' behavior. This is one of a number of changes we have made to our credit card offering recently to bring us in line with the competition."
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