The trend was sharper in February: according to a report from the consulting firm First Capital, payments of $2.3 trillion were made with credit cards, which is an increase compared to January of only 1.4%, as well as below the 6% estimated inflation. Compared to February 2021, the growth was 82.6%, which in the face of inflation implies a drop of almost 100% in real terms.
Reasons why he decided to buy a credit card
– Due to inflation and the tax burden, discounts abound in other means of payment: When it comes to any work or service, the customer’s question is: “How much does it cost?”, to which the seller answers “what are you doing? “To turn it off?”. That is, what in Argentina corresponds to a different price for each means of payment. So it is more and more common to appear for a discount of 10 or 15% to pay in cash and to ask merchants or self-employed people to avoid the burden of transfers, commissions and taxes. Due to the impact of inflation, the rule that everyone requires the product to have a single price for any payment instrument becomes difficult to comply with.
-Promotions are no longer abundant: The temptation to pay everything in installments without worrying that inflation will melt them away is no longer so easy to find. Even the medical pain, it is made that the financing is not, it is always important to the developer. Before having the obligation to pay for a purchase in one payment, many people prefer to use a debit card.
– The purchase limits are not renewed at the rate of inflation: the 12th policy is no longer used, although it is valid until June 30, it faces an obstacle: the banks do not renew the purchase limits with the speed at which inflation is proceeding. . Already 12 years old – or already 30 years – they are reaching low limits. Not everyone had a 200,000 limit on the card to buy in installments. The Prism Index for the quarter of 2022 warned in the official policy that “the preference for short policies will grow”.
-Other means of payment have grown: QR code payments, transfers, immediate debit, electronic checks and even, the debit card, which has grown in the number of transactions by 11% year on year. The payment methods offered by the bank have been added to the growing fintech movement.
In this field, for businesses, with the treatment of credit cards, in general, the minimum option is appropriate, since the commissions are higher and the credit term is from 8 to 18 business days, eternity in the period of growth of 6% monthly. Other options are more profitable and immediate or at least shorter accreditations. From the consumer’s point of view, the credit card offers the opportunity of a “kick-off” payment in a few weeks until the end of the monthly statement; At the same time, this amount also makes all purchases more expensive by 1.2% due to the stamp tax effect.
-The “Qatar dollar” card dissolved in spending dollars: According to the first Capital, the card was irregular in spending dollars, mainly because “the application of the differential exchange rate to the use of the card in foreign currency limits its use and today. but the values are below the usual times in the pre- pandemics.
The “Qatar dollar” mechanism made taxes more expensive and put a cap of USD 300 per month (difficult to implement) on credit purchases abroad. And Argentine travelers, having given up so many restrictions, often prefer to hang out with a debit card or take dollars from a safe and cash.
