Play your cards right

Entrepreneur, Sept, 2002

Pellet, Jennifer

Likely to spark a new class of plastic, Cleveland-based Charter One Financial's new delayed-debit card offers what may be the best of two worlds: the float of a credit card and the interest-free aspect of a debit card. Instead of deducting debits on a pay-as-you-spend basis, Charter One debits monthly or semimonthly. "It gives business owners a quasi-cash-management tool," says David Bowen, senior vice president of retail product management at Charter One, Noting that the Smart-Business OncCared was designed for small businesses.

"It allows you to keep the bulk of your money earning interest in a savings account while you accumulate debits throughout the month knowing that they will hit on a particular date," he explains. "Then you transfer the money over and everything goes through." Charter One account holders can also monitor spending and debit clearing dates online at the company's Web site (www.charterone.com), where customers can view what their account balances would be if charges were applied daily. There is a $50 annual fee--waived for the first year--and the card is available in Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Vermont.