Moneyextra.com - Dictionary
Secured credit cards have much in common with prepaid credit cards. The key point is that they arent really credit cards at all. That is to say secured credit cards do not advance credit in the way ordinary credit cards do.
Like prepaid cards secured credit cards must be funded in advance. However some secured credit cards will not directly draw on the money you put in to cover your spending using it instead as security in case you default on a repayment.
Secured credit cards and prepaid credit cards are not cheap to run. They tend to be attractive to those people with bad credit history or no credit history. Using secured credit cards sensibly can help rebuild a tattered credit record without running the risk of going back into debt.
Among the advantages of having a secured credit card is that more and more retailers are refusing to take cheques - increasingly requiring customers to pay using credit or debit cards.
The application process for secured credit cards is much simpler than applying for an ordinary credit card for one simple reason - as you arent actually applying for credit no credit checks are required no verification of employment etc.
Use the moneyextra.com credit cards comparison tool here
2009-02-17 00:00:00 © Moneyextra.com