Credit card integral part of modern life

Credit card integral part of modern life

JAKARTA (JP): "Plastic money" has become an integral part of modern life in Indonesia. Although many people still do not know the benefits of owning a credit card, the people who use them find them handy.

The Jakarta Post interviewed several people on the benefits of credit cards. Here are some excerpts:

Magdalena, human resources and development manager of a private company: I need credit cards, especially when I travel overseas. I don't go abroad very often -- two or three times a year. When you are abroad, there are a lot of expenditures, especially when you shop a lot. One credit card is not enough. Therefore I have several cards so that I can extend my credit limit.

I have a Master Card and two Visa Cards, which I use alternately. I also have a BCA charge card, but I rarely use it. Merchants abroad don't accept BCA cards.

If I buy things like jewelry or electronic goods on credit, the merchants often charge me up to three percents more than the normal price. But I think it is still worthwhile using credit cards. It's risky to carry cash.

I've never had any problems with my credit cards. But two years ago a restaurant rejected my husband's card, saying that he had exceeded his credit limit. It turned out that his card had been forged and used by another person. My husband returned the card to the bank, which later issued him with a new card.

Peter Basuki, director of Buena Produktama Entertainment Company: "Credit cards are very practical," says Peter, who owns several credit cards issued by foreign and local banks.

"I travel a lot to run my business and entertain my business partners. It would be very inconvenient and unethical if I paid for everything in cash when entertaining them."

Peter says he is lucky that he has never faced any trouble with the credit card issuers, which sometimes make mistakes in charging their customers.

"I always double check my bills and keep them in a special file. I also write down all transactions in my diary. It's my habit to control my monthly expenses and to keep all the bills as evidence whenever I need to claim for reimbursement," Peter says.

He says many people's difficulties regarding their credit cards are their own fault.

"They always throw away the bills -- they are too lazy to keep them. When they face trouble with their credit cards they cannot do anything."

Because he keeps notes of his expenses, Peter knows exactly how much he should pay each month. He says his records are also useful in controlling his passion for shopping.

But Peter says he is that many banks or credit card issuers are marketing their products very aggressively. As a top businessman, he receives a lot of offers to become a member of credit and charge cards.

"Sometimes, they do not charge any membership fee and offer various advantages to attract as many members as possible. This effort may be desirable for certain people, but it could be misleading. I think that such campaigns are disquieting, especially if credit card issuers do not provide adequate information on their commodities.

"But, the key is the consumer. He has the right to accept or to refuse it."

Hana Hoed, public relations manager of the Regent hotel believes that owning a credit card is very useful as long as the holder uses it wisely.

"It is really up to us to manage the card properly, otherwise we will certainly run into financial trouble," said Hana, who owns a number of credit cards.

Knowing that they have their credit/charge cards in their pockets, people tend to buy unnecessary things while shopping, she said. As a result, they get into debt which they find difficult to repay, she added.

"I always remind myself not to use the credit card for small transactions," she said, adding: "Just pay it in cash."

Hana uses her credit cards for emergencies or when traveling abroad.

Budi, vice president of a private company: I started using credit cards -- a Master Card and a Visa Card -- in 1980. Now I have another Visa Card and an American Express Card. In addition, I also have a corporate Amex (American Express) card which I can use to pay expenses for traveling and entertainment. There is no credit limit for this card. Once I spent between US$5,000 and $6,000 on a single trip.

Even though I have credit cards, I always take a certain amount of cash with me. You can't rely on credit cards. You don't know what will happen. They might refuse your cards for no reason. That happened to me once. I immediately terminated my membership and applied for a new card at another bank.

I also had another unpleasant experience when I was billed twice for the same transaction, which I had made abroad. Following my complaint, the bank gave me a credit to correct the mistake, but they used a different conversion rate, which meant I lost tens of thousands of rupiah.

Some merchants charge you more if you pay by credit card. In those cases, I pay in cash.

Credit cards might have something to do with consumerism, but not in my case.

Nanny Budiman, director of the Diamond Information Center: I use credit cards because they are very convenient and practical. Just imagine if you had to carry around hundreds of thousands of rupiah or millions of rupiah in cash. It would be cumbersome, and risky as well. I started using credit cards in the mid-1980s. It was a Visa Card. A few years later I got my second card, a Master Card. Both of them were issued by Citibank. I need more than one credit card because when I travel abroad I sometimes spend quite a lot of money. Also, if I have problems with one of the cards, I can still use the other one.

I had a problem with my card once. A day before I left on an overseas trip, I transferred some money to my credit card account, which should have meant that the credit balance was zero. When I tried to use my card, however, it was rejected and I was told I was over the credit limit.

Last December, in Italy, I lost my wallet and all of its contents, including my money and the credit cards. I called Citibank's head office in the U.S., which immediately checked with my family at home and the Jakarta branch of Citibank. Within two hours, they called me back. Things were settled. I got a temporary card which I was able to use to withdraw cash from local banks. When I returned home, Citibank gave me new credit cards.

Helmi, secretary: I have four credit cards: a Visa Card, a Master Card, an American Express Card and an Astra Card. I used to have Diners, but I terminated my membership as there are not many places here which accept Diners.

I have several cards because the due date for the payment of each card is different. It is good to have several cards because there are places which only accept certain credit cards. For example, when I was in Manila, I used my Amex card a lot because the merchants would not accept my other cards.

The Astra Card, which I can't use abroad, is a supplement card from my husband.

Richard Maramis, senior manager: I used to have four credit cards, but now I only have one, a Visa Card. I decided to terminate the membership for the other cards because some of my friends liked to join me in using the cards. They often asked me to pay for the items they bought and promised to pay later. But they did not always pay their debts.

For me, there is no point in having many cards. I don't really need all of them. But I have just applied for a Gold card. Why? Maybe because it is more prestigious. Ha.. ha... (raw/sim)