This is a form of credit made available to borrowers by Australian financial or retail institutions.

Money is advanced, on behalf of the borrower, for the payment of goods and services charged to the particular “credit card”, in this respect they are identical to standard “credit cards” (in purpose).

The credit card is linked to an account which accumulates the purchases made.

This total must be paid off in total at the end of the month, or within an interest-free period (usually 30-60 days depending on the lender) if expensive interest rates are not to be applied.