The BCRA's Board decided to keep the maximum interest rate at 43% APR to finance unpaid credit card balances, which represent 95.5% of the users that benefit from this type of financing.
The BCRA’s regulation states that financial institutions must charge a 43% interest rate to credit card balances up to ARS200,000 (two hundred thousand pesos) per card issued.
As regards balances over ARS200,000, financial institutions may charge a differential rate up to the maximum permitted by the Law on Credit Cards, that is, 25% above the interest rate charged on personal loans, and similar to the rate charged on non-bank cards.
According to financial system statistics, 95.5% of credit card balances are below the threshold set out in the law; therefore, those financial users will keep to the maximum interest rate of 43%.
Only 4.5% of the credit cards issued exhibit balances higher than ARS200,000, and banks may charge the differential rate only on the portion of the balance exceeding that threshold.
January 6, 2021