Incredibly, this isn't an exaggeration. There are Americans in this situation right now where each payment to their credit card company leaves them owing more. This is perfectly legal in the States, and only in the last few years has their government moved to stop banks from putting people in this cycle of infinite repayment (where the interest and fees are more than the monthly payments).
How was this ever legal? Well, in the late 70s, the US Supreme Court ended the federal predatory lending laws, and the credit card economy was born. Banks issued cards to anyone and everyone, often charging 24.99% interest (or higher, cash advances often collect 29.99%) and adding on an assortment of fees hidden in the fine print. This appears to be a good deal for the card holder, as the monthly payment is very low. Specifically, it was often 2% of the balance, an amount that would either have the card holder paying back their debt many times over or, in the worst cases, never paying it back at all (especially once unexpected fees were thrown in).
But we don't get this sort of rubbish here in New Zealand. The minimum monthly repayment on my credit card is 2% of the balance or NZ$25 (whichever is greater) and my credit limit of $3000 means that the minimum repayment is a maximum of $60. The interest on my card is 13.75% which means that the interest on $3000 is $412.50 per year ($472.50 if you include the $5 monthly account fee). That comes out to $34.38 per month ($39.38 if you include the $5 monthly account fee), which is less than $60. That's because predatory lending isn't allowed. But there is one thing you can do if you're not lucky enough to live in a country where your credit card provider can't screw you over like that: you can always hit them where it hurts by paying more than the minimum repayment.
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