BANK SAYS NO TO RETIRED CREDIT CARD APPLICANT

The Straits Times 24 Sept. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Familiar? If you are retired, and thinking of applying for a credit card, forget it. Retirees and pensioners in Singapore have long complained that banks practise age discrimination when it comes to approving credit card applications.

Whenever a complaint like this surfaces in the print media, the banks will issue a public statement denying such a discriminatory practice. But the above letter in today's Straits Times (24 Sept) is proof that any denial by banks is merely a PR damage-control exercise.

It is a similar story with banks in Malaysia. The irony is those who default on credit card payment are not retirees. In an article in The Star "Shocking reasons why Malaysians are living beyond their means" (22 Sept), the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA) discovered that on average 41 Malaysians are declared bankrupt EVERY DAY, mostly due to credit card debts. What's more shocking is most of these defaulters are below 40 years old, and they do not care about the consequences.

Many young people hold multiple credit cards. Banks are ever ready to offer them even more credit cards.

Despite such statistics, banks still discriminate against retirees. They don't welcome people who don't have a fixed income from employment. You can produce a portfolio of all your income-deriving assets and proof of a healthy retirement fund, but banks remain unconvinced.

Well, their loss is our gain. They are helping us spend less on shopping at the malls and saving more for our retirement.
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Credit card discrimination against retirees