Nowadays credit cards have become an integral feature of daily life. You may go anywhere — a bookshop, a restaurant, a travel agent — but the same question shall arise: “Payment by cash or card?” Most people today have a credit card or two occupying pride of place in their wallets. The sheer convenience that a credit card supplies cannot be undervalued. The development of this little piece of plastic has done away with the need to carry along huge bundles of cash. And the retailer is also more willing to accept payment by credit card than by check. After all, if the check does bounce, the retailer will have to go through the rigmarole of scouting out the person who bought the goods. In the case of a credit card, he knows he will be paid.
Yet, even today there are large numbers of people who do not trust themselves with credit cards. This may be a hangover from the old days where we were advised not buy things on credit. But credit cards are here to stay, and it is high time that we accepted this as fact. In fact, with credit card providers releasing credit cards at the drop of a hat, it is just a question of time before credit cards become the...