Todaymoreandmorepeopleareusingcreditcardsinsteadofmoneytobuythethingstheyneed.Almostanyonewhohasasteadyincomeandacontinuousworkrecordcanapplyforacreditcard.

Ifyouhaveacreditcardyoucanbuyacareatadinnertakeatripandevengetahaircutbychargingthecosttoyouraccount.Inthiswayyoucanpayforpurchasesamonthortwolaterwithoutanyextracharge.Oryoumaychoosetospreadoutyourpaymentsoverseveralmonthsandpayonlypartofthetotalamounteachmonth.Ifyoudothisthecreditcardcompanyorthebankwhosponsors(经办)thecreditcardwilladdasmallservicechargetoyourtotalbill.Thisisveryconvenientforthecustomer.Withthecreditcardillyourwalletorpurseyoudon'thavetocarrymuchcash.Thissavesyoutripstothebanktocashchecksorwithdrawcash.Alsoifyoucarrycreditcardsinsteadofalotofcashyoudon'thavetobeconcernedabout losingyourmoneythroughcarelessnessortheft.Thecarduseronlyhastoworryaboutpayingthefinalbill.Thisofcoursecanbeaproblemifyouchargemorethanyoucanpayfor.

Creditcardsarebigbusiness.Americansspend$16billionayearoncardsandtherearealready590millionofthemincirculation. Manybankssponsortheirowncreditcardcompaniesandissuecardsfreetotheircustomers.Othercreditcardcompanieschargetheirmemberannualdues(费用).Thestoresthatacceptcreditcardsmustpayasmallfeetothecreditcardcompanyapercentageofthepurchasepriceofthemerchandiseorservice.Inturnthecreditcardcompanypromptly(立即)paysthestoreforthemerchandiseorservice.Creditcardcompaniesmakeaprofitfromthefeestheychargethestoreandalsofromthefeescollectedfromcustomerswhopayfortheirchangesinmonthlyinstallments.Howevercreditcardcompaniessometimeshaveproblemscollectingoverduepaymentsfromunreliablecustomers.Alsotheuseofstolenlostorcounterfeitcreditcardsbycriminalshasbecomeabigheadacheforthecreditcardcompanythatisresponsibleforthegoodsandservicesillegallychargedtoitscustomers'account.

69.Themainpurposeofthispassageis .

A.topromotethesaleofcreditcards

B.topersuadeyounottobuycreditcards

C.toexplaincreditcardeconomy

D.togiveyousomeinstructionso