OCBC hikes rate on rollover credit; other banks may follow

OCBC Bank has become the latest bank to raise interest rates for credit card late payments, raising questions on whether this would trigger a new round of increases by other banks.

The local bank recently hiked the interest charge to 26.88 per cent a year on overdue credit card bills, making it the first local bank to levy a rate above what most of its peers are charging - 25.9 per cent.

OCBC's higher rate for most of its credit cards took effect in September, four years after its last hike to 25.92 per cent. This was a 0.96 percentage point hike.