Personal-finance experts are warning consumers that a failure to pay off just a few dollars of their purchases on deferred-interest credit cards from Apple Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other big-name retailers can leave them with major finance charges later on, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The deferred-interest credit cards offered by those stores allow customers to pay for purchases interest-free for a set period. But borrowers who fail to pay off their initial purchases in full by the end of the promotional period must pay interest on the original amount that they charged—even the parts they have already paid off. The backdated interest is often at rates as high as 25 percent.
