New Delhi: There is bad news for customers who use credit cards. From now on, they may have to pay 36-50% interest on late payment of credit card bills. The Supreme Court has repealed the 2008 decision of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission regarding credit card late payment charges, in which a maximum of 30% interest was fixed as credit card late payment charges. After this decision of the Supreme Court, banks will now be able to charge 30% to 50% interest on credit card late payment fees.

what is the whole matter

In a decision in 2008, the NCDRC had said that charging 36 to 50% annual interest from credit card users is too much. Terming it as unfair trade practice, the limit of interest on late payment fee was fixed at 30%. The Supreme Court has stayed this decision of the NCDRC and this has given relief to the banks. This news is a shock for those customers who delay paying the credit card bill. From now on, banks can charge 36-50 percent interest as late bill fee from such customers. The Supreme Court has issued an order in this regard on December 20 and this decision has been given by a bench headed by Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.

Petition to Supreme Court

The reason behind this decision of the Supreme Court is a 16-year-old case. On 7 July 2008, the NCDRC had ruled in this case that no more than 30 percent interest can be charged from customers who do not pay the full credit card bill by the due date. Many banks like HSBC, Citibank and Standard Charge Bank had filed an appeal against this decision and now on 20 September, the Supreme Court has given a verdict in favor of the banks.