IT SOUNDS to me that the government is dead set on imposing the RM50 service charge on credit cards. The PM-cum-finance minister has been reported as asking us to accept it for the overall good of the budget and economy.

I think that is the reason that is closest to home – not any of the declared reasons for helping Malaysians to be more prudent financially and not overextend their use of credit cards.

Why? Because, if the government is truly concerned about credit card misuse, it should look at the banks. They are the ones throwing the cards at us – can you walk through a shopping mall concourse area without being mobbed to get a new card? They even send us cheques for sums of RM5,000 or more as ready loans to be paid via monthly credit card instalments.

They keep increasing our credit limit just to tempt us to spend more and hopefully go into debt. They are inculcating the spend-on-credit mentality and culture. (Where is Bank Negara in all this?) I would propose that the new service fee be charged to banks and not credit cardholders. That would hopefully make banks more responsible.

Otherwise, I would have to hold on to my opinion that the service charge is a new revenue generator. Can the PM please tell the public how much instant cash this ingenious charge will add to government coffers?

Lim Swee Bin
via email

Source: The Sun – November 26, 2009