Credit Card charges have been a much discussed subject over the last few years and one of the key issues raised has been how banks have failed to identify to new customers the actual value of the fees which would be charged if their account went over their overdraft or issued a debit greater than the account balance.

Charges are quite a hidden feature of any bank’s offer of credit and for good reason – they can be very damaging and they vary widely between banks. Below we’ve discussed and compared some of these rates.

Banks will set a limit for the amount of credit they will give any customer, depending on the income and credit rating of that customer.  If a customer goes over the limit, then a penalty charge will be applied on the account.  This varies from bank to bank in regard to how long the customer has to bring their account back into line and also in regard to how much will be charged.

• The ANZ charge $20 of the over limit amount
• Aussie bank charges a flat rate of $35 whenever the account goes over the limit.
• Citibank has a set charge of $40 when the account goes over limit.
• NAB has no fee for customers going over the limit.
• St. George charges a flat rate of $9 for an account over the limit and Westpac has the same charge.

From this list of information it would appear that NAB is giving the best deal here, but perhaps their interest rates are higher to compensate for this.  Citibank is charging the highest amount here but they do have some very competitive rates of interest on offer.
The other hidden charges on credit cards are for late payment of the monthly repayment requested.  Each bank again sets its own fee and they are as follows:-

• ANZ has a standing charge of $20 for late payment.
• Aussie bank charges a flat rate of $35, the same fee as it charges for over limit accounts.
• Citibank again charges $40 for late payment.
• The Commonwealth bank has a standard fee for late payment of $40.
• NAB charges $30 for late payment.
• St George and Westpac both charge $9 for late payment.

So the Westpac group are charging the lowest fee for late payment and they also have quite a low fee for over limit accounts.  As previously suggested, it is important to check out the interest rates for all credit card accounts as well as these penalty charges to really know which bank is giving the best deal.