Reduce Credit Card Debt
Credit Card Minimum Payments
Most of the top 10 credit card issuers have raised their minimum payments. Regulators urged banks to adjust their minimum payments by the end of 2005. The increase comes just as energy bills are soaring and a new bankruptcy law has made it harder to erase debt.
Some cardholders could see their minimum payment double to 4% of the balance from 2%. On a $10,000 balance, the payment could jump from $200 from $400.
In the long run, the change is good for consumers in that they'll pay off their credit cards more quickly. But initially, the higher payments could create financial hardship.
