ABSTRACT
Credit cards are an integral part of the financial system.1 In the USA, thousands of depository institutions issue credit cards and set the terms and conditions independently on these plans.2 Consumers use credit cards as a convenient payment device for the purposes of borrowing, and as a standby line of credit for unforeseen expenses. As a source of short-term finance, credit card lines have often been used as a substitute of conventional loan products. In 2012, credit cards were used in $24 trillion of transactions in the USA (Nilson Report 2013).
