Feds Test Simplified Credit Card Agreement

(AP) - Congress has sent President Obama a bill with sweeping new rules for the credit-card industry that will affect just about every American. The House approved the measure this afternoon, 361-64. The Senate OK'd it yesterday, 90-5. The new restrictions will protect debt-ridden consumers from many of the surprise charges common in the industry, like over-the-limit fees and a charge to pay by phone. More»

'Our customers will understand' $5 debit card fee

(NEWSER) - Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan defended his bank’s controversial new $5 debit card fee in a CNBC interview yesterday, saying that most customers would avoid it, and that the bank had given customers plenty of warning about it. Asked to respond to President Obama’s statement that banks don’t have “an inherent right to a certain amount of profit,” Moynihan replied that “I have an inherent duty as a CEO … to get a return for my shareholders." More»

Have they sent you one yet?

(NEWSER) - Citigroup is moving aggressively to expand its credit card business, hoping to capitalize on rivals who are toning down their efforts in the area. The bank sent out a whopping 346 million card offers to North American customers in the third quarter alone—which, the Wall Street Journal observes, is more than one for each person in America, and should vault it past Chase as the most dogged mailer of card offers. More»

Chase is experimenting with a $5 fee for non-customers

(NEWSER) - If you’re far from an ATM belonging to your own bank, brace yourself to shell out a few bucks. Banks across the country are hiking ATM fees, Credit.com reports. Chase, for example, is charging non-customers $5 to use their ATMs in an Illinois pilot program—and that’s on top of any fee the users’ own banks are demanding. More»

Card makers jack prices in face of new regulations

(NEWSER) - Interest rates are tumbling for US Treasuries, companies, and home-buyers. The prime rate is extremely low. Yet for some reason, credit card companies are charging more and more, with average rates hitting a nine-year high of 14.7% in the second quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports. Companies say they’re reacting to new regulations that prevent them from charging penalty fees and raising rates without warning customers. More»