November 29

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28TH
NOVEMBER
2018
WEDNESDAY
CURRENCY PARIS CODE BUYING SELLING
US Dollar USDGHS 4.7893 4.7941
RATES Pound Sterling GBPGHS
6.1337
6.1417
Euro
GBPGHS
5.4319
5.4366
10
DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2018
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
What everyone should know about Credit Cards
FOR MANY people, the
use of a credit card as a
financial instrument is
met with some amount
of apprehension. Justified
or not, a lot of
these apprehensions are borne out
of a lack of an understanding and
a complete appreciation of a
credit card, how it differs from
other cards and the benefits it has
for users who use it appropriately
and for the right purposes.
Ordinarily or even as a natural
instinct, people would want to
steer clear spending money they
do not have and that is the sense
in which a lot of us view credit
cards. In actual fact, however, the
use of a credit card can in many
ways encourage responsible borrowing.
How? Let us first learn a
bit more about credit cards.
What is a Credit Card?
A credit card is a financial instrument
that allows you to access
a credit limit your bank gives you.
A credit limit is just like a loan that
you can use as and when you need
and it is limited to the amount of
credit limit given by your bank.
The bank allows you to reuse the
loan over and over as long as you
keep paying the minimum instalment
on a monthly basis. In very
simple terms, a credit card gives
you access to a predetermined
short-term loan from your bank,
which you pay back at a specific
time agreed upon by you and your
bank. This is different from a
debit card also issued by your
bank. But how?
How a credit card differs
from a debit card?
Credit cards and debit cards
work in similar ways but are very
different. First, when purchasing
something with the debit card, the
money comes directly from your
bank account whereas in the case
of a credit card, the purchase is
charged to a line of credit for
which you are billed later. Secondly,
debits cards are not debt instruments
because whenever you
use a debit card to make a payment,
you are just tapping into and
withdrawing from your bank account.
But credit cards are debt instruments.
Meaning whenever you
use a credit card for a transaction,
you are borrowing money from
the bank, which you are obligated
to repay later.
Lastly, the use of a debit card
• Emmanuel Nii Odartey
Lamptey, Head, Card and
Payment Solutions, Stanbic Bank
requires that you have enough
money in your bank account or an
agreed overdraft to cover the
transaction. A credit card, on the
other hand, is not linked to your
current account. It is a credit facility
that allows you to buy things
immediately, up to a pre-arranged
limit and pay for it later, you then
have a choice of paying off the
bill in full by a set date with no interest
or paying at least a minimum
amount and spreading the
repayments over a period of time.
So why do you need a
credit card?
Credit cards have lots of benefits
for consumers when used appropriately
and for the right
purposes.A credit card is the safest
and most flexible and save personal
loan you could find. You
choose how much you spend and
borrow each month, as well as
whether you repay the minimum
amount (10% of outstanding balance)
or whether you pay the full
amount. Using a credit card is very
convenient. A credit card allows
you to make purchases without
drawing cash to pay for them.
The card is a very safe and convenient
way to make a range of
payments to suppliers, either for
physical goods or services. And all
these transactions carry no transaction
fee, in fact they are free to
you.This means that a credit card
can be used as a safe and convenient
payment method where the
payments are free when used at
merchants. And it is interest free
too, if you pay the full outstanding
balance each month.
One very interesting thing
about a credit card is its inherent
security covers and protections.
Credit card companies are obligated
to protect cardholders from
fraudulent purchases especially online.
When the purchase is made,
the credit card company first verifies
the website the purchase was
made before authorizing payment.
If the website is found to be
fraudulent the credit card company
will not go ahead with the
payment thereby protecting the
cardholder from fraud. In this way,
you are able to pay for your online
purchases with the assurance that
the transactions are secure.
Finally, a good credit can build
a credit score that enables you to
get good rates for your purchases.
A good credit is when you make
purchases using a credit card and
pay off within the pre-arranged
time. When this is adhered to
overtime, you sometimes get discounts
on your purchases amongst
others. The credit card market, especially
in Africa, is an emerging
one that needs a lot of education.
Hopefully this article has been of
help and will make you make an
informed decision about a credit
card.
11 to grab 2018 Logistics and Transport Awards
THE TECHNICAL evaluation
committee of the 2018 Logistics
and Transport Awards has selected
11 institutions and individuals
as winners and runner
ups for awards in 15 different
categories.
The selection of the
awardees was based on their
outstanding performance in relevant
operations within the logistics
and transport sector in
the year 2017.
A statement issued and
signed by MacDonald
Bubuama, the Events Coordinator
and Member of the Organising
Committee, said the
winners would be announced
and honoured at an awards ceremony
slated for Thursday, December
6, 2018 to be held at
Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra at
7.00pm.
The event, dubbed GLOTA
2018, was initially slated for July
26, 2018 but had to be postponed
indefinitely to enable the
technical evaluation committee
conduct a thorough exercise to
scrutinise the entry applications
submitted by interested institutions.
Award categories
The contending categories
include the Best Freight Forwarding
Company of the Year,
Best Courier Service Company
of the Year, Best Commercial
Transport Company of the
Year, Best Safety and Environmental
Friendly Company of
the Year, Best Corporate Responsible
Company of the Year,
Best Haulage Company of the
Year and Best Allied Service
Company of the Year.
Others are Best Car Rental
Company of the Year, Best
Promising Logistics and Transport
Company of the Year, Best
Logistics and Transport Employer
of the Year, Best Chief
Executive Officer of the Year,
Best news Reporter of the Year
and Best Media Organization
• GLOTA president, Mr
Ofosu Appiah-GIFf
of the Year, Best Logistics
Company of the Year and the
Best Customer Service Excellence
Award.
The 2018 Logistics and
Transport Awards is being organised
by Adams 360 Advertising
Company in partnership
with Eves Media Ghana Limited,
Target Roll Communications
Consult and the Ghana
Institute of Freight Forwarders
on the theme, ‘Driving the
Growth of Ghana’s Logistics
and Transport sector through
effective recognition system.’