Posts Tagged With 'Card'

Study: Late Fees Decline and Interest Rates Stabilize Due to Credit Card Act

Posted by: Lola Thornton  Posted date: May 10, 2011 in Credit Cards Articles
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A study released on Tuesday from the Pew Charitable Trusts says that credit card late payment fees have declined and interest rates have stabilized thanks to the credit card legislation. While the study notes that the changes occurred two years after the legislation was signed, this could mean the law has truly made an impact.

Credit Card Act Has Made a Difference

The study, which examined about 300 consumer credit cards offered via the internet by the 12 largest banks and credit unions from March 2010 to Jan. 2011, shows that a number of positive changes have occurred as a result of the Credit CARD Act.

One major change is that charges for late payments on U.S bank-issued cards decreased from a median of $39 to a range of $25 to $35. How

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Tags: Card Credit Card Interest Rates

Sony PlayStation data breach: Hackers claim they have 2.2 million credit card numbers

Posted by: John Freycinet  Posted date: May 01, 2011 in Credit Cards Articles
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The Sony PlayStation story keeps evolving.

In the three days since the company revealed that credit card data could be among the information hacked from its database of 77 million online gamers, there have been three new developments and items of interest:

News organizations that have sniffed around in hacker boards and chatrooms are reporting that lowlifes therein are offering credit card information they say they purloined from the PlayStation database. According to the (UK) Guardian’s technology blog, hackers claim they have 2.2 million Sony customers’ credit card numbers — including their security codes, which make it easy to use cards fraudulently.

If so, that would be Sony’s — and the consumers’ — worst nightmare. The newspaper stresses that these are unconfirmed reports, but adds that some PlayStation customers are reporting that they’ve seen unauthorized charges on their cards. Th

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Tags: Card Credit Card Sony Playstation

Breaking Down the Credit Card Act’s Clarifications

Posted by: Lola Thornton  Posted date: April 15, 2011 in Credit Cards Articles
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A few weeks back, the Federal Reserve issued a series of clarifications regarding the Credit CARD Act of 2009. While the last of the regulations were implemented about a year ago, issuers have tried to sidestep the intent of the regulation.

“There are some issues that simply were not provided for in the legislation, or that the legislation resolved in a way that is now raising concerns,” spokesman Dean DeBuck said. “Where we find violations of new or existing requirements we will insist on immediate correction and will take formal enforcement action where appropriate to the circumstances.”

The Fed’s new guidelines should offer clarity, but some have also provoked new controversy.

Individual Income Vs. Household Income

The Back story: In the free-flowing credit days, lenders would give high credit ceilings to people who simply couldn’t afford to pay back what they borrowed. The legisla

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Tags: Card Credit Card

CRL: CARD Act did not lead to increase in credit card rates

Posted by: Matilda Sprent  Posted date: March 24, 2011 in Credit Cards Articles
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Recent research examining the effects of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act) of 2009 revealed that the new rules have actually increased transparency and spurred competition.

A study conducted by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) concluded that new credit card rules brought forth by the Credit CARD Act helped to reverse a trend of unclear pricing that may have led to increased debt for some consumers.

This increasing transparency has resulted in a smaller gap between stated rates and actual rates paid on credit cards. As a result, new levels of clarity have been brought to credit card offers.

In addition, the CRL report concluded that in the year since the implementation of the CARD Act (February 22, 2010), credit card rates remained stable and credit limits did not lower beyond what could be attributed to the economic downturn.

These findings about credit card pricing and available credit were contrary to many predictions that the CARD Act legislation would result in higher rates and lower credit limits for consumers.

Included in the research was a comparison of rates for consumer credit cards vs.

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Tags: Card Card Act Credit Card

7 Tips for Getting Your First Credit Card

Posted by: Lola Thornton  Posted date: March 01, 2011 in Credit Cards Articles
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The usual look of joy upon receiving your first credit card.

So you’ve finally decided to join the real world and open up your first credit card.

Congratulations!

No, seriously, you’re making an excellent decision.  While you may be disappointed that the simplicity of life without any bills is over, you’ll be patting yourself on the back in a few years when you realize the good credit score you’ve built up has given you greater financial flexibility to make major life purchases.

That is, if you use your credit wisely.  Credit cards can be a responsible user’s best friend, but a living nightmare for those who are careless with their spending habits.

So how can you make sure your credit card is a positive force in your life?  Here are seven great tips on getting your first credit card and starting your credit off right.

7 Credit Card Tips for First Timers

1. Find the car Read more…

Tags: Card Credit Card First Credit First Credit Card

Take the sting out of credit card charges

Posted by: Lola Thornton  Posted date: March 01, 2011 in Credit Cards Articles
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Dealing with a 200 credit card sale costs a business 2. So why are we surcharged up to 10 by airlines, train companies, ticket agencies and utilities among others?

The issue is on the radar at the Office of Fair Trading after lobby group Which? launched a ‘super-complaint’ this month, claiming that the charges are far higher than the true cost to the retailer of processing the transaction.

The cost of handling card payments varies with the size of the company or retailer and the fees charged by the payments giants such as Visa and MasterCard. Typically, costs are between one and 2.5% of the transaction for credit cards and pennies for debit card sales.

But many companies have boosted card payment charges dramatically, sparking accusations that they are simply pumping up profits at the customers’ expense.

For example, experts estimate it costs an airline such as Ryanair about 2 or 3 for a credit card booking of 200.

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Tags: Card Credit Card

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