Credit card limit

Dear community

It surprises me that if I have a limit of over 4000 on a credit card, for example Viseca Platinum, is this reported somewhere or are *credit cards* only reported when I have over 4000 francs open and pay this off as a partial payment because it is then due to the ZEK as a credit card applies?

It also surprises me when I, for example, If I had a card with a limit of 20,000 at Viseca, would this reduce my credit card limit with another issuer, e.g. Cornercard or Amrican Express, because I could get *too much* credit?

Because I'm thinking about getting an Amex Plat/Gold as a charge card because that wouldn't have any impact if I increased the limit on the Viseca credit card, right?

Thanks for the reply.

Swiss lenders are forbidden by law to lend you money if the loan will result in you becoming overindebted. To help them do this, the IKO and the ZEK record information about your existing debts. If you do not pay your full credit card bill by the due date, then the outstanding balance becomes a loan, and the credit card issuer has to report it to the IKO.

So it is not the credit limit that matters, but the size of balances that you do not pay off in full and on time. Credit card issuers do not have to report your credit line to the IKO because it is not a loan. As long as you are paying your full credit card bills on time, you will not likely have an issue obtaining additional credit cards.

So as long as i pay them off all the time I'd get the same credit limit on new cards without a decrease due to having multiple ones?

An open credit card balance does actually show up on your ZEK credit history (and I assume the IKO as well) for 2 months from the time it is created. If you have several credit cards, then only the most recent negative balance shows in your credit history (if you have poor creditworthiness then other card balances may show as well).

If you already have a credit card and are using it, you probably have an open balance (unless you pay money into your credit card account to create a surplus). So the new card issuer will see that you have an open balance, unless you do not use the card you already have for at least two months before applying for the next one.

But assuming that you do not have any open balances (i.e. you do not use your card for at least two months), then it is as in the answer above.