In an increasing effort to protect itself, the credit card company I work for is requiring physical proof of income from both new and established customers.

Yet this company is not alone in its policy changes. All credit card lenders are working to put protections in place in an attempt to circumvent loan defaults. 

UNVERIFIABLE INCOME: GOING, GOING…

There was a time when you could get a credit card and a credit limit based on unverifiable answers about your income that you scribbled on a credit card application. Those days are fast disappearing as credit card companies become more and more insistent about assuring the loans they extend will be repaid.

To prove that they have the income to pay back the money they will borrow, credit card applicants are being required to provide documentation of family income in the form of pay slips, tax documents, and bank statements. 

Yet this doesn’t just apply to new customers. Many existing customers are being asked to prove their yearly income, even those who pay off their accounts every month.  

PROVIDE INCOME PROOF OR BE DENIED

So if you are a potential credit card customer who cannot come up with the required documentation to prove the yearly income that you claim, expect to be denied a card.

If you are an existing customer who cannot provide proof of having the same level of income you claimed when you applied for your account, expect to have your credit limit decreased, or even revoked altogether.

The days of fudging numbers in regard to yearly income are over. Perhaps that will turn out to be a good thing, however, since it may prevent people from inadvertently getting in over their heads with debt.

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