IMGCAP(1)]
The Philippines government is asking local credit card issuers to reduce annual membership and late-payment fees as part of the country's recently signed Credit Information System Law, according to the Manila Standard Today, a local newspaper. Fifteen local credit card firms form the country's Credit Card Association and are affected by the law. The government did not set a deadline for the companies to comply with the law, which went into affect 31 Oct., according to the report. Philippine credit card companies often set annual interest rates of as high as 42%, four times higher than an average annual interest rate in the United States, according to the report. Annual credit card fees vary between 750 pesos (US$15.30 or 12.20 euros) and 1,200 pesos, while issuers typically charge an annual fee of 500 pesos on supplementary cards.
