Some people view a credit card as form of unpleasant financial dependence. Not only personal dependence, but a country's financial dependence as well.
It is a well-known fact that credit cards came from the West. Having conquered the developing countries, the West has become the leader. It was back then - by the means of force, it still is today - thanks to the use of some other strategies. One of which is - a credit card. Back then these forced countries were called colonies; today we just call it - developing countries.
The Empires have always needed colonies to feed them. Seems like one of the best contemporary ways to carry this out is a credit card system. Just take a look at how rapidly MasterCard, American Express, and Visa are being introduced to the lives of people. Even in such places of the world where people need to be fed much more than to have a plastic card in their pockets! Go you to Costa Rica - credit cards are no wonder over there. Credit cards are surprisingly widespread in many places of the world. It's an intricate question - are the poor developing countries ready to be in such a way ruled over?
Is a credit card really a weapon in the hands of the developed countries? It all very much depends on how these developing countries can manage all those APR's and fees as well as other charges. Take into consideration that all the charges are typically much higher than in the US or UK. Truly to say, they are sky-high!
Specialists feel that credit cards do not harm the development of Africa or Asia that much. Better to say, they just promote modern socio-economic relationships. For instance, when businessmen travel, they take credit cards with them. No need to argue that it is really an effective investment.
Nowadays Visa and MasterCard are substantially stretching their markets. Since the market of the West is rather saturated, there is naturally a need for new markets. On the other hand, financial inflow is positive for the developing countries. It is obvious that Latin America, Africa, Asia are becoming more and more dependent on credit card services. Credit card is a part of the everyday life already.
The thing that is shocking, though, is the size of the interests the customers are charged for the services in the developing countries. I mean 150-200% interest rate is just nonsense for the American cardholders, and - a reality for, let's say, Brazil. Some cardholders sincerely believe that they are offered best terms and rates, whereas in the US such conditions would have been considered inappropriate and even - offensive.
What is also very typical for the credit cards in the developing countries is the very low credit limit. Usually a credit line is not higher than 400% and is a subject to quick return. It is just the common policy of the credit card issuers. It all may seem horrible, but that is the way it is for the developing country - to give and to give more and more.
One may ask if there is any way that these countries may gain financial independence. There is no exact answer. But we may assume that it all largely depends on the development of the credit card issuers in the countries in general and, as a result competition between them. The Empires will remain, but the card holders all over the world may learn to make the most use of the credit cards and become closer to the already well-established effective credit card system.
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