Quebec credit card holders will have to pay at least five per cent of their monthly balance starting on Friday.
The new payment minimum, up from 4.5 per cent, will apply to all contracts entered into before August 2019. The increase is slated at 0.5 per cent.
For purchases of $1,000, this new increase represents $50.
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Quebec’s Office of Consumer Protection wrote in a press release in July that “this latter percentage already applied following a credit card application in the last six years.”
The annual increase of 0.5 per cent was established in 2019 to help combat debt — but the measure ends this year with a final increase reaching five per cent. In 2019, the minimum payment was two per cent of the monthly credit card balance.
The Office says “Whenever possible, paying off your credit card balance in full each month is ideal: no credit fees apply. For those who maintain this habit, the upcoming 0.5 per cent increase is of no consequence.”
Quebecers are encouraged to make the minimum payment and to turn to consumer associations to receive free budget consultation services.
The Quebec government has provided credit cost calculator on their website, with examples showing the benefits of making more than the minimum payment.
