John
My first use of credit in Japan was with a credit card issued by American Express Japan (AMEXJ). As a foreigner I had few options. In the beginning my charges were listed on the monthly statement sent by snail mail (Japan Post). The total amount listed was automatically transferred from my Mitsubishi bank account to AMEXJ the same month.
As a result, there was no interest for me to pay. However, there was a significant fixed annual service fee for use of the card. On the good side, AMEX followed me everywhere, including to Manila where I had an office for a while. In that place I needed the extra security AMEX provided. For example, our local company bank with knowledge aforethought allowed an unauthorized person in my company to withdraw money from a company account.
Recently, AMEXJ has advertised a revolving time payment plan, whereby an account holder can select how much of the total amount due she/he wants to pay each month. AMEXJ was very quiet about the interest rate the account owner would have to pay on the remaining account balance.
USA banks such as Bank of America have long been providing VISA or MASTER CARD accounts with a set interest rate and a set maximum amount of credit, often in the thousands of dollars. Interestingly, my USA credit rating goes up or down as the total amount of credit authorized by all my bank credit cards goes up or down.
Concerning revo barai (revolving payment) in Japan, there are some dark money loan/high interest rate lenders in the market place (such lenders have long been active in the USA as well). While legally registered companies in Japan can charge annual interest in the 3%-18% range, revo barai companies are known to charge interest in the 10%-50% range for a 10-day loan.
Separately but related, there is a massive student loan scandal in the US. This involves legal interest rates by a lot of banks and legitimate finance companies; but they knowingly loaned huge amounts to college students who have minimal likelihood of timely repayment. As a result, the interest on the unpaid loans typically increases faster than the student payback….
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