Credit card rates in Peru to jump 40 percent

Everything is relative. Many credit card customers in the United States have seen their APRs jump in the past few months for a variety of reasons ranging from universal default to issuers trying to mitigate subprime risk. In response to these and other credit card concerns, consumer groups and legislators are calling for myriad credit card reforms.

Just be glad we don't live in Peru. A recent article published on livinginperu.com announced that some credit card holders in Peru will see interest rate jumps as high as 40 percent in the next few weeks. The APR for cash withdrawals will increase from 59.92 percent to 98.95 percent. Wow. It makes you wonder what the late fees and over-the-limit fees are.

Why so high? The country is trying to combat accelerating inflation (incited in part by the U.S. currency's decline in value) and Peru's Central Reserve Bank is implementing these measures and others to ward off runaway prices. According to the article, letters were sent to credit card customers announcing the rate increases, which will take effect April 15, while also reassuring customers that they were not being targeted for bad behavior.

While some Europeans pay upward of $8 a gallon for gas while we pay anywhere from $3 to $4, poor Peruvians are being socked with credit card APRs that make credit cards in the United States look comparatively free.