Immigrants, Credit Cards?

Recently, banks have dramatically increased their efforts to reach out to immigrant groups for an additional market, financial experts said.  But In Richmond Hill, where more than half of the population was born outside the United States, many immigrants did not want to speak about whether or not they have credit cards.  One person who did comment raised the concern that many immigrants distrust the concept of credit cards.

“The government is 100 percent behind them,” said Augusto Cerrone, a 56-year-old immigrant from Italy. “By the end of the year, the IRS says you spent this much, when you only earned this much.  It’s to get the cash out of the people.  It’s to keep tabs on how much you spend.”  Cerrone, who came here thirty years ago, works as a shoemaker in Richmond Hill.  He said when he uses his credit cards he quickly pays the bills.

Cerrone’s attitude towards credit companies reflects a general mistrust held by those who may not have knowledge of how credit works.  There are an unknown amount of immigrants living in the United States, and credit card usage data for this demographic does not exist, said Doug Massey, a professor at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University.