Banking (Credit Card and Charge Card) Regulations 2013

Disclosure of finance and late payment charges, and information on amounts outstanding

18.—(1) A card issuer shall include, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the following information in its credit card or charge card bill issued to a cardholder:

(a)	any finance charge or late payment charge which is or will be imposed by the card issuer and the method of computing such charges;
(b)	any other penalty or consequence for late payment which is or will be imposed by the card issuer; and
(c)	a notice advising prompt settlement of the amount outstanding under the credit card or charge card bill.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in paragraph (1) shall be taken to require any card issuer to impose finance charges or late payment charges in respect of its business of issuing credit cards or charge cards.

(3) Where, on or after 1st June 2015, a cardholder has not paid the prior month’s credit card or charge card bill in full by the payment due date set out in the prior month’s bill, the card issuer shall, in its next credit card or charge card bill (referred to in this regulation as the current month’s bill) to the cardholder or in a sheet attached on top of such bill, include the following information in a clear and conspicuous manner (such as by using font or a sheet of a different colour) the following information:

(a)

in the form specified in Part I of the Second Schedule, in relation to a credit card —

(i)	the length of time, in years and months, it will take to fully pay off the entire outstanding balance in the current month’s bill; and
(ii)	the total amount the cardholder will have to pay, including principal, interest and all applicable fees and charges, to fully pay off the entire outstanding balance in the current month’s bill,

assuming the cardholder makes no further charges to the credit card and pays every month an amount equivalent to the minimum payment set out in the current month’s bill on the payment due date set out in the current month’s bill and on the payment due date for each subsequent month until the entire outstanding balance in the current month’s bill is fully paid off;

(b)

in the form specified in Part II of the Second Schedule, in relation to both a credit card and a charge card, the outstanding balance in 6 months’ time, including the principal, interest and all applicable fees, assuming the cardholder makes no further charges to the credit card or charge card and makes no payment in the next 6 months.

(4) For the purpose of paragraph (3) —

(a)

the computation of the interest shall be based on the applicable interest rate that the card issuer generally imposes on similar types of credit cards or charge cards; and

(b)

notwithstanding sub-paragraph (a), the computation of the interest may be based on —

(i)	the purchase rate in lieu of the applicable interest rate and applied to the whole of the outstanding balance, even in relation to amounts that accrue at interest rates different from the purchase rate, provided the card issuer discloses that interest charges will be higher than illustrated if there are amounts accruing at interest rates that are higher than the purchase rate; or
(ii)	promotional interest rates for the relevant promotion period, provided such promotional interest rates will be applied by the card issuer to the cardholder’s credit card or charge card.

(5) In projecting the length of time to pay and the total amount to be paid referred to in paragraph (3)(a), where the projected outstanding balance in any subsequent month in the computation of such time and amount falls below the minimum payment set out in the current month’s bill, the cardholder shall be assumed to pay the outstanding balance in that subsequent month in full on the payment due date for that subsequent month.

(6) Nothing in paragraph (3)(a)(ii) or (b) shall prevent a card issuer from —

(a)	providing a breakdown of the required information by product types (such as by purchases, cash advance and instalment plans), except that, in such a case, the card issuer shall also disclose the aggregate across product types in addition to the breakdown of the required information; or
(b)	including any additional information in the form specified in Part I or Part II of the Second Schedule.

(7) Any card issuer which fails to comply with paragraph (1), (3) or (6)(a) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $25,000.

[S 319/2015 wef 01/06/2015]

(8) This regulation shall not apply to a supplementary cardholder if the card issuer complies or has complied with this regulation in respect of the principal cardholder.

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