With the ever-increasing financial difficulties and high inflation in Turkey, a critical warning came from the famous economist Şenol Babuşçu for citizens who cling to their credit cards like a person who falls into the sea clings to a snake. Babuşçu warned credit card holders, saying, “Do not fall into this trap.”
While citizens’ financial difficulties are increasing day by day in Turkey, credit cards, which are used as a means of borrowing instead of a means of payment, have begun to raise a red alarm…
In addition to the programs implemented within the scope of combating inflation, an increase in credit card minimum payment rates is expected for 2024.
Famous economist Prof. credit cards, which are actually a means of payment but used as a borrowing tool by citizens who cannot make ends meet. Dr. Şenol Babuşçu warned the citizens.
While it is stated that increases in credit card usage, tax increases and new taxes may come to the agenda after the election, these increases are expected to affect a wide range of products, including credit cards.
Possible new steps may include:
Increases in basic services and products (natural gas, electricity, urban transportation, high-speed train, bridges and highways, food products).
Increases in tax rates (SCT, property tax, corporate tax, income tax and income tax withholding, fees and fines).
Introduction of new types of taxes (wealth tax, real estate tax).
In addition, it is observed that the limit usage rate decreases in cards with high limits, while the limit usage rate increases in credit cards with a limit of 25 thousand TL and below.
TUKONFED Banking Commission Chairman Hüseyin Ölmez states that this increase depends on the minimum payment amount and warns that if the minimum payment amount is paid, the remaining debt will be transferred to the next month with interest and this may increase the interest cost of consumers.
One should be careful against minimum payment traps. Drawing attention to the ‘Minimum payment trap’, which brings high interest costs to consumers and where unpaid amounts accumulate as non-performing loans, Hüseyin Ölmez emphasized that this situation causes consumers’ purchasing power to decrease and payment difficulties.
Drawing attention to the decrease in the usage rate of high-limit cards and the increase in the usage rate of low-limit cards due to the increase in debts under legal follow-up observed in BRSA data and the transfer of non-performing loans to follow-up accounts, Ölmez stated that this situation could lead to social problems and emphasized that new regulations should be made in consumer finance.
