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Credit card trends to watch out for in 2018

Published on December 1st, 2020
  Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
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We will be saying goodbye to 2017 soon, but credit card holders can look towards 2018 with eagerness. The market has spoken, and your call has been answered. If you are one of the many credit card holders that were looking for convenient, efficient and up to date banking that keeps you the consumer in the centre, you will be pleased to find out what lies in store for you with these four credit card trends that will ease your swiping woes.

Before we lay out the good news, lets deal with the not so good news. Economists predict that there could be a drop in the Australian dollar which is to fall 70 US cents in 2018. How this will affect you is that it could push the Reserve Bank (RBA) to put a rate hike of 0.25% sometime next year. But before you bellow a big sigh of why here is the good news:

Prepare yourself for big bonus opportunities

It’s the new year and you know that businesses are still hungry to sign up new customers. This means that they will be offering competitive rates for credit cards just to have you. The reward points will probably blow your socks off. Spoilt much? You can shop around and compare for deals that offer a 0% interest rate for a period of time that will make you pay back your debt with ease in those few months. However, don’t be lured in by deceptive credit card marketing. Speak to a financial advisor who will help look for and compare the best deal to suit your needs. There is no need to feel left out if you are an old customer as you will also be given a more solid loyalty programme that will keep you feeling at home.

No more signatures

Although it will be missed in terms of making you feel official, major card issuers such as Mastercard are looking towards ditching the signature to allow for a more faster transaction. We will wait and see if the wave hits Australia. If you are a swiper who always found the signature signing a bit pedantic, or if your hand suffers from embarrassing onsets of the shake then this will put a smile on your face.

Face recognition will replace your card

You are trying to make a payment and as you reach into your wallet to pay you realise that you left your beloved card at home, and that taunts you are a few copper coins that sit comfortably at the bottom that won’t do any justice. In 2018 you can see such problems resolved as credit card producers are looking towards creating face recognition payments. In some places in China customers are enjoying the luxury of making payments with their face, and it could soon catch up with the rest of the globe.

An introduction of a debt-clearing card

Did you say a debt-clearing card? Australians have an accruing debt in interest rates on their credit cards that are sitting at $31,441,804,737. That’s approximately $1278,42 in interest for every Australian, even the little baby in your lap. An introduction of a new credit card by Orange One card can help you clear your credit card faster, and in the process, help you save thousands of dollars in interest. It is designed with a mandatory autopay, higher minimum repayments and a fairer interest schedule. Customers who have this card can take a $250 payment and break it down into paying it with an instalment plan that has a lower rate of 9.99%. This is different from the average 14.99% that cardholders have to fork out.

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This guide provides general information and does not consider your individual needs, finances or objectives. We do not make any recommendation or suggestion about which product is best for you based on your specific situation and we do not compare all companies in the market, or all products offered by all companies. It’s always important to consider whether professional financial, legal or taxation advice is appropriate for you before choosing or purchasing a financial product.

The content on our website is produced by experts in the field of finance and reviewed as part of our editorial guidelines. We endeavour to keep all information across our site updated with accurate information.

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