Cardholders Are in the Driver’s Seat

* After reading “Consumer Groups Assail Rising Penalties on Credit Card Debt” [Nov. 6], I felt compelled to bring several points to your attention.

The good news for consumers is that, overall, costs for cardholders are falling, not rising. According to the October issue of Consumer Reports, “competition in the credit card industry, combined with low interest rates throughout the economy, has reduced rates on new cards.”

A report released recently by Bank Rate Monitor confirms this finding that “rate-wise, it’s a great time to be a consumer” as interest rates have “nose-dived” in the past year. Average rates for fixed-rate standard cards have dropped over 3 percentage points in the past year to just over 13%, according to the report. Issuers are now offering fixed-rate cards with interest rates below 10%, according to a Nov. 9 Bank Rate Monitor report.

Consumers are in the driver’s seat. They can easily avoid delinquent and over-the-limit fees. And they do. The vast majority of credit card holders, 97%, pay their bills on time. MasterCard and its card issuers consistently remind consumers, in numerous education programs and other communications, to pay their bills on time, pay more than the minimum payment due and to closely monitor their balances.

CATHERINE J. CUMMINGS

Vice president, Consumer affairs

MasterCard International

Purchase, N.Y.