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Living with credit (248)
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New, interesting products (69)
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Research, regulation, industry reports (177)
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Rewards (23)
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Protecting yourself (113)
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The fine print (36)
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Credit card miscellany (280)
Research, regulation, industry reports
Sorry, credit cardholders, last night's rate cut was a bailout for investment bankers. Your cut comes tomorrow.
The "Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights" bill got a first hearing in the House Thursday, and it doesn't bode well for an industry that says it needs no additional oversight to have the overseers recount personal tales of how they got stiffed by their credit card issuer.
A congressional hearing today look at establishing a "credit cardholders' bill of rights," but a look at the lobbying expenses shows there's a lot of talk on one side, a lot of money on the other.
With Tuesday's launch of the Emerging Credit Score, Experian joins a growing movement to put more of Americans financial lives unders scrutiny, upping the damage to anyone who occasionally misses a rent payment or a utililty bill deadline.
Getting people without bank accounts into the world of financial services is a lot tougher than just handing out a bunch of debit cards
The latest Federal Reserve G.19 Consumer Credit Report shows that consumers accelerated their use of credit cards in January. Consumer use of revolving credit (which includes credit cards) surged at an annual rate of 7 percent during the first month of the year, up significantly from a 2.8 increase in December. That pushed the total amount of revolving credit to $947.4 billion. In December, total revolving credit stood at $941.8 billion.
Identity theft is incredibly prevalent -- the FTC recently estimated that there are 8.3 million identity theft victims in America each year -- but even with all the press it gets, a new survey reveals that consumers aren't doing everything they can to fight it.
In these tumultuous economic times of soaring credit card debt and home foreclosures, it's become apparent that financial literacy is a sorely needed skill.
How often do you go shopping with the intent to purchase one item, but end up splurging on a shopping cart full of goods? Think it's because you lack willpower or have a shopping addiction? Actually, Stanford researchers have a name for this phenomenon -- shopping momentum -- and it happens to the best of us.
British banking giant HSBC posted a 21 percent increase in full-year net earnings for 2007, as strength in Asia helped the company overcome sizable impairments charges in its U.S. consumer-finance business.
Charge-off rates on credit card loans are inching up, but they aren't quite at the level they were six years ago.
Originally, text messages were used to send notes to friends while stuck in class or to tell someone something brief. Then they became a way to vote in reality television hits and win prizes with game shows. More recently, as my colleague Connie Prater reported in a blog, debt collectors are beginning to e-mail and text debtors who dodge phone calls. Now, the most recent group behind text messaging: identity thieves.
Americans love the convenience of shopping online, but many still get a twinge of nervousness when typing that credit card number into the computer, and those who have the least harbor the most fear.
Do you owe money? Should debt collectors be able to e-mail, text or IM consumers about paying their financial obligations?
BlueHippo Funding, LLC and BlueHippo Capital LLC, owe up to $5 million for consumer redress to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the firms broke federal laws.
Some small business borrowers look to be among those experiencing lowered credit limits. In a post on The Vest Pocket Consultant, Rosalind Resnick shares the story of small business owner Michelle Wood, whose American Express credit line was slashed by $10,000 because her handbag company, Lil’ Diva Enterprises, was not registered with business information provider Dunn & Bradstreet.
The Center for American Progress says a credit card safety rating system -- similar to crash test ratings for cars -- would help consumers see which credit cards would give their finances the biggest dings.
The Federal Reserve today released the minutes from its most recent meeting on Jan. 29-30 (there is always a lag between the central bank's monetary policy decisions and the release of the minutes that accompany those decisions). Those minutes suggested that the Fed continued to see risks to the economy, even after it trimmed interest rates to their lowest level since June 2005.
Credit card solicitations in the mail greatly declined in the last quarter of 2007. The mortgage crisis and faltering economy have caused creditors to become more selective in who they target for direct marketing, and have saved trees in the process.
British issuers Barclaycard and Egg have decided they would rather drop certain cardholders altogether than let them hang around and pose a repayment risk -- even if the cardholders' had nothing in their credit report to suggest they were a danger.
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission unveiled its list of leading consumer fraud complaints for 2007. Topping the FTC's complaint list for the seventh-straight year: identity theft.
Are you crazy for Barack? Are you rooting for Hillary? Are you counting on McCain? Do you "heart" Huckabee? It’s quick and easy to support your favorite presidential candidate with your credit card.
Concerned consumers, breathe a sigh of relief: A report released yesterday by Javelin Strategy & Research reveals that identity fraud is on the decline in most of America. It also reinforces a three-year trend that the majority of information stolen by criminals is taken from personal belongings and phone calls -- not online.
Think you know what your date wants for Valentine's Day? Discover Card's third annual Valentine's Day Shopping Survey exposes what lovebirds are planning to buy and hoping to receive this Feb. 14. Also, several ways to have an inexpensive celebration.
According to a study released Friday, sadness and overspending tend to go hand-in-tissue-holding-hand.
House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) today introduced the "Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008 (H.R. 5244), "comprehensive credit card reform legislation aimed at leveling the playing field between credit card companies and consumers."
An American Express survey was announced this morning revealing that Americans are striving equally for both physical and financial fitness in 2008. Between the obesity epidemic and the credit crunch, I think this is great news.
Anyone who thinks Americans aren't worried about their health insurance should think again. Many are very worried that the next illness will send them into bankruptcy.
The task of obtaining a credit card just got tougher for people with marginal credit. That's the key conclusion that can be drawn from January's survey of senior loan officers, released by the Federal Reserve Board Monday.
Two Democratic U.S. senators have signaled in recent days that they have a pro-consumer, activist agenda in store for the credit card industry.
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About
The credit card industry stays under a microscope, both from researchers and regulators, the issuers' reports provide a snapshot on the economy. Find the latest data here.
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