The National Retail Federation and 19 large retailers, including WalMart, Costco, Gap, Lowe's, Nike and Starbucks are choosing not to participate in the pending $7.2 billion class-action settlement with Visa and MasterCard over interchange fees. These retailers will be forfeiting … Continue reading
Visa recently announced new efforts to issue credit cards in Chinese yuan. Visa would be the second credit card company to have cards in this currency, with Citigroup introducing a similar service last month. China has reformed its foreign exchange … Continue reading
The Long Shadow of Bad Credit in Job Search Over the last several decades, credit reporting bureaus have been selling their services to a much wider range of buyers than just banks. Nearly half of employers use credit checks when … Continue reading
As the use of prepaid debit cards increases, so does the risk of theft and fraud. Last week, federal prosecutors charged eight individuals in New York with cyber attacks on the global financial system. They were part of an international … Continue reading
Being the CEO of a credit card issuer or processor pays well. Very well. MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga's pay package last year totaled $11.3 million, an increase of 35 percent over his 2011 compensation of $8.3 million, according to the … Continue reading
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has backed out of a pact with Visa, MasterCard and other major credit card providers. The class-action settlement for $7.25 billion was designed to make up for some of the interchange or swipe fees … Continue reading
The European Commission has begun an investigation regarding the fees MasterCard charges consumers for card transactions made while visiting Europe. According to the BBC, the European Commission, the antitrust regulator of the European Union, said some of the firm's "inter-bank … Continue reading
Credit card issuers are still finding new ways to attract affluent cardholders. Visa is offering a six-month free trial with CLEAR, a biometric identity service used in airport security. The relationship will allow Visa Signature cardholders to move to the head of the … Continue reading
Analysts See Steady Credit Card Use, Despite Fears of Consumer Cutbacks Analysts expect upcoming earnings from American Express, Visa and other large credit card companies to show that shoppers continued to swipe their credit cards at a healthy clip in the … Continue reading
MasterCard recently announced the creation of a Memorandum of Understanding with Alibaba, an eCommerce giant in China. This mutual agreement will allow both MasterCard and Alibaba to tap further into the eCommerce market and expand their efforts in China. MasterCard … Continue reading
With the slow diminishment of cash in the modern world, many Americans find it difficult to pay for parking in busy cities. In response to this quarter-lacking quandary, Ocean City officials have opted to install parking meters that now accept … Continue reading
Rising allegations of cyber espionage in China has put many U.S. companies on high alert. Visa has decided that it is time to take action, reinventing the fraud detection system for the entire organization. Visa's Chief of Risk officer Ellen … Continue reading
Up until now, PayPal and similar electronic payment processors have been able to avoid excessive fees from credit card companies, with those companies assuming all the costs for transactions in their systems. MasterCard has finally grown tired of this, and … Continue reading
Lawmakers Target Unfair Overdraft Charges Democrats have introduced a bill that would limit the cost of overdraft fees and prohibit practices that increase the likelihood customers will overdraw their accounts. The Overdraft Protection Act would prohibit financial institutions from charging more … Continue reading
Prepaid Cards May Lack Protections of Checking Accounts Reloadable prepaid cards don't have to carry federal deposit insurance, as checking accounts do, says a new report from a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Cardholders can use them for direct … Continue reading
The good news continues for the credit card industry. Yesterday, Visa reported that its credit card payment volume in the United States for the first two months of the year was up 11 percent compared to 2012 levels. Debit card … Continue reading
Young Adults Retreat From Piling Up Debt Total debt among young adults dropped in the last decade to the lowest level in 15 years. A typical young U.S. household, defined as one led by someone under age 35, had $15,000 … Continue reading
As debit cards grow in popularity, knowing how to use them wisely and track spending is more important than ever. Debit cards "debit," or subtract, money directly from your checking account, so users must make sure they have enough money … Continue reading
Visa Ends Ban on Retailer Discounts for Specific Cards Visa is giving its merchants more flexibility in offering discounts to their customers, and reversing restrictions that prevented retail partners from offering special deals to customers that paid with a specific bank's … Continue reading
J.P. Morgan Chase and Visa are entering into a partnership to develop a processing service where selected retailers give special discounts to Chase Visa cardholders that are applied at the time of purchase. The ten-year partnership, called Chase Merchant Services, … Continue reading
Educational initiatives on the U.S. transition to secure chip-based credit card payment systems was one of the top priorities for 2013 to come out of the 6th annual Smart Card Alliance Payments Summit, held recently in Salt Lake City, Utah. … Continue reading
Visa and MasterCard both made significant moves in the digital payment markets this week. MasterCard introduced MasterPass, a digital service that allows customers to purchase items from wherever they are and with any mobile device. Consumers can use any payment … Continue reading
If you have had a credit card for any length of time, it is likely that you've had an error on your account. It could be you were billed for a purchase you never made, billed twice for a transaction … Continue reading
Visa has lifted the ban that prohibits its retail partners from offering special deals to customers that paid with a specific bank's credit or debit card, according to the American Banker. New Visa CEO Charles Scharf was behind the change … Continue reading
California Supreme Court Makes it Easier for Apple, Online Businesses to Collect Personal Data A divided California Supreme Court ruled that online merchants such as Apple and Ticketmaster can require consumers to furnish personal information to make credit card purchases. … Continue reading
Visa net profit increased 25 percent in the last three months of 2012, up from $1.03 billion a year ago to $1.29 billion. Consumers used their credit and debit cards more often during holiday shopping. Visa, the world's largest payment … Continue reading
A number of major retail chains and associations are assuring consumers that they will not implement a surcharge on consumers making a purchase by credit card. When customers use a credit card, the retailer is charged an interchange or swipe … Continue reading
Secrets of Mobile Success: Cost-Cutting Banks Seek Smartphone Customers Strapped for new revenue and pressed into waves of cost cuts, the country's largest banks are trying to keep the customers they have, woo the ones they don't and do it … Continue reading
Beginning this Sunday, retailers in most states could begin charging you a fee when you buy something with a credit card. But most industry analysts feel competition will limit the number of merchants that actually begin charging a "checkout fee." … Continue reading
With Cordray Nomination, Obama Renews Fight With GOP President Obama renominated Richard Cordray for head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday. Cordray is currently serving in the post thanks to a recess appointment. A year and a half ago, … Continue reading
Consumer Group Warns of Card Surcharges Credit cardholders must be on the watch for new check-out fees that merchants will be able to impose starting in January under a class-action settlement with Visa and MasterCard. But merchant trade groups say … Continue reading
2012 was a relatively quiet year for the credit card industry. However, there were a number of developments that may have a far-reaching impact in the years to come. Here are the top ten credit card stories of 2012: Swipe … Continue reading
Visa's new Chief Executive Officer, Charles Scharf, will receive $950,000 per year in salary as well as $19 million in restricted stock and stock options, according to the regulatory filing. The 47-year-old Scharf took over the CEO post for the world's largest … Continue reading
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by Home Depot and other merchants to speed up the appeals process in a class action settlement over swipe fees. The U.S. appeals court is postponing the briefing until the settlement … Continue reading
Credit Card Penalty Payments are Arriving More than $425 million in refunds and restitution will soon be sent to millions of consumers nationwide, penalties paid for deceptive credit card practices. And another $410 million--from Bank of America--is already landing in … Continue reading
Buying gift cards this holiday season is even easier with the growing availability of virtual gift cards. Ordering is done online, and an email is sent to the recipient with the details needed to claim the gift. Gift cards continue … Continue reading
How Four Families Conquered Their Credit Problems A Federal Reserve Board report issued in June revealed that only about 39 percent of card holders carried a balance in 2010, down from 46 percent in 2007. Those balances average $2,600, compared … Continue reading
Visa's digital wallet product, V.me, grew significantly yesterday with the addition of two major banking partners. Bank of America, with an estimated 30 million online customers, and the Royal Bank of Scotland have both agreed to offer V.me. Earlier this … Continue reading
Retailers continue to fight hard against the $7.25 billion interchange fee settlement between merchants and Visa, MasterCard and several banks. On Tuesday, ten merchants and trade groups filed notice that they will challenge the settlement of this swipe fee price-fixing … Continue reading
Battle Plan Shifts on Dodd-Frank President Barack Obama's victory means the 2010 Dodd-Frank law will stand. But the finance industry could still cut some parts of the law because changes now are politically less risky for the administration and Democrats in … Continue reading
Visa has significantly expanded its reach into the digital payment industry. Visa's digital wallet service, V.me, is adding more than 50 financial institutions, including PNC, U.S. Bank, BBVA/Compass and BB&T. This increases Visa's potential base of cardholders to 55 million. … Continue reading
Despite an outcry from retailers and trade groups, the proposed $7.25 billion settlement between merchants and Visa, MasterCard and several large banks over interchange fees took another step to becoming reality on Friday when a federal judge granted preliminary approval … Continue reading
Consumer Credit Growth Cools, Credit Card Use Sags In September, growth in consumer credit cooled as households appeared to use their credit cards less frequently. According to Federal Reserve data released this week, consumer credit grew $11.36 billion in September, lower … Continue reading
Credit Card Settlement Could Stymie PayPal's Retail Plans A provision within the hotly-contested settlement between merchants and credit card networks could potentially slow PayPal's bid to become more widely accepted at grocery stores, restaurants and other retailers. Retailers that choose to … Continue reading
Credit Cards Charge Up Healthy Margins Consumer confidence is up, and household debt is down. That's good news for retailers. It's also good for credit card processors Visa and MasterCard. Strong revenue is only part of the story. Leveraging profits … Continue reading
The majority of plaintiffs named in the record $6 billion class-action settlement with Visa and MasterCard are now mounting an eleventh-hour effort to block the settlement. Ten of the 19 trade groups and retailers feel the settlement leaves issuers with … Continue reading
U.S. Credit Card Lenders Shun Add-Ons as CFPB Cracks Down Chase, Bank of America and American Express are among credit card lenders retreating from a $2.4 billion market as regulators seek curbs on deceptive marketing of products including debt cancellation. Scrutiny … Continue reading
Another major trade association has come out against the $7.25 billion settlement between some retailers and Visa and MasterCard over the interchange fees on credit card transactions. Today, the National Restaurant Association announced that it is opposing this settlement because … Continue reading
Today, Groupon launched a payment service that enables merchants to accept credit card payments using a card reader attached to an iPhone or iPodTouch. By entering this market, Groupon Payments will take on the two leaders, PayPal and Square. Groupon … Continue reading
The opposition continues to grow to the $7.25 billion settlement on credit card interchange fees that Visa, MasterCard and other banks agreed to pay. Yesterday, the National Retail Federation announced that it received approval from its board to go to … Continue reading