The provincial government and the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority is giving students some advice on how to use credit cards.
The program teaches students to use credit cards to build credit to one day make large life purchases such as a vehicle or a house.
Director of Consumer Credit Cory Peters said a big message for credit card users is to ensure they make at least the minimum payment on their credit card every month.
“People who get their first credit card may feel since the minimum payment is relatively small, it’d be acceptable to skip that for a few months if they are going to make a bigger lump-sum payment, but that’s not how credit cards work,” explained Peters.
Other problems they’ve encountered with younger people using credit cards include the sharing of card information like a PIN number. He said people could be on the hook for whatever the card is being used for if something happens to the account.
With this program, the FCAA is providing a wide variety of advice for students. One of the tips Peters talked about was the importance of reading statements.
“They need to make sure all the charges that have gone through their card is legit. If somebody sees a transaction they are not familiar with or it wasn’t their’s, it’s very important they contact their credit card company right away.”
Peters added that many people get their first credit cards around this time of year and how people young and old are able to learn from these credit card tips.
