First of all, let me state that the following Chinese is not a translation, but another article. Sorry, there is too much content, so I can’t translate it for you. However, these are the more authoritative explanations in Wiki.

A credit card is part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services. The issuer of the card grants a line of credit to the consumer (or the user) from which the user can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance to the user.

Credit cards are issued after an account has been approved by the credit provider, after which cardholders can use it to make purchases at merchants accepting that card.

When a purchase is made, the credit card user agrees to pay the card issuer. The cardholder indicates consent to pay by signing a receipt with a record of the card details and indicating the amount to be paid or by entering a personal identification number (PIN). Also, many merchants now accept verbal authorizations via telephone and electronic authorization using the Internet, known as a 'Card/Cardholder Not Present' (CNP) transaction.

Electronic verification systems allow merchants to verify that the card is valid and the credit card customer has sufficient credit to cover the purchase in a few seconds, allowing the verification to happen at time of purchase. The verification is performed using a credit card payment terminal or Point of Sale (POS) system with a communications link to the

merchant's acquiring bank. Data from the card is obtained from a magnetic stripe or chip on the card; the latter system is in the United Kingdom and Ireland commonly known as Chip and PIN, but is more technically an EMV card.

< p>Other variations of verification systems are used by eCommerce merchants to determine if the user's account is valid and able to accept the charge. These will typically involve the cardholder providing additional information, such as the security code printed on the back of the card, or the address of the cardholder.

Each month, the credit card user is sent a statement indicating the purchases undertaken with the card, any outstanding fees, and the total amount owed. After receiving the statement, the cardholder may dispute any charges that he or she thinks are incorrect (see Fair Credit Billing Act for details of the US regulations). Otherwise, the cardholder must pay a defined minimum proportion of the bill by a due date, or may choose to pay a higher amount up to the entire amount owed. The credit provider charges interest on the amount owed if the balance is not paid in full (typically at a much higher rate than most other forms of debt). Some financial institutions can arrange for automatic payments to be deducted from the user's bank accounts, thus avoiding late payment altogether as long as the cardholder has sufficient funds.

A credit card is a method of payment for non-cash transactions (see credit card transactions) and is a simple credit service.

A credit card is generally a plastic card with a length of 85.60 mm, a width of 53.98 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm (the size is defined by the ISO 7810 and 7816 series of documents). It is issued to the cardholder by the bank or credit card company based on the user's creditworthiness and financial resources. Cardholders do not need to pay cash when making purchases with a credit card, and repayment will be made on the bill date. Except for some credit cards combined with debit cards, general credit cards are different from debit cards and cash cards in that credit cards will not directly deduct funds from the user's account.

Application

In most cases, citizens with full capacity for civil conduct (citizens over 18 years old in mainland China), with certain direct financial resources, or without direct financial resources Current college students (only undergraduates, some banks are limited to key universities in China’s “211 Project”) can apply for a credit card from the card issuing bank. Sometimes, legal persons can also be applicants. The application method is generally by filling out a credit card application form and submitting certain copies of documents and certificates to the card issuer. The application form is accompanied by a credit card use contract. The applicant authorizes the card-issuing bank or relevant departments to investigate its relevant information, and submits a statement of the authenticity of the information, the card-issuing bank's privacy protection policy, etc., and must have the applicant's signature.

Issuance

Usually, banks will judge whether to issue a credit card based on the application information, various aspects of the applicant's information and financial situation, and the standards of each bank's internal credit review policy. to the applicant. Factors considered include the applicant's past credit record, the applicant's known assets, professional characteristics, etc. The specific factors and processes reviewed by the card issuing bank are commercial secrets and are generally difficult for outsiders to understand. The standards of each card-issuing bank are also different. Therefore, the same materials may be issued with different credit limits and different types of credit cards in different banks. Some banks may even approve the application, while others may reject it.

Card opening

Since the card is sent by mail after the credit card application is approved, there is no guarantee that the recipient is the applicant. In order to protect applicants and banks from fraud losses, the credit card has set up a card opening procedure before it is officially launched. Card opening is mainly done by phone or online. The relevant personal information provided during the application is checked. Once the information is met, the card opening process is completed. At this point, the applicant becomes the card holder and can officially start using it after signing on the back of the card.