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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: credit card

credit card stories: 88 news summaries

21 - 40 of 88 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

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(AP) - Putting himself on the side of fuming consumers, President Obama is pushing for Congress to send him legislation by Memorial Day that would immediately reign in the credit card industry, he said in his radio address this morning. The House has passed a bill banning several predatory practices, but it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
credit card • consumer debt • predatory lending • Government Credit Card Abuse Prevention Act • President Obama • rate increase • Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights

(Newser) - The House today approved legislation to protect credit card holders from hidden fees and sudden rate hikes, Reuters reports. Legislators voted overwhelmingly for the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, a measure banks complain will tighten the amount of credit available and make holding a card more expensive. The Senate is... More »

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Congress • House of Representatives • legislation • credit card • lending practices • consumer debt • Obama administration • President Obama • Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights


 Debit Cards Overtake Credit 

A surge in debit-card usage reflects a shift from the days of easy credit

Apr 30, 09 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - The recession has boosted the popularity of debit cards, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the last quarter of 2008, debit-card transactions processed by Visa were 50.4% of the company’s volume, surpassing credit cards for the first time. Rival MasterCard’s debit volume surged 13% last year as... More »

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recession • debit card • credit card • Visa • MasterCard • financial crisis

Obama Pledges
Credit Card Reform

Obama backs House bill limiting 'deceptive' practices

Apr 23, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama told senior executives of credit-card firms today that he supports congressional efforts to rein in some of their business practices, the Washington Post reports. Both the House and Senate are working on bills to codify new regulations by the Fed that restrict lenders’ ability to arbitrarily raise interest... More »

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Barack Obama • credit card • credit • credit crisis • lending practices • Obama administration • President Obama

Schumer Wants Faster Action on Credit Cards

Rules on deceptive practices don't take effect until 2010

Apr 23, 09 1:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sen. Chuck Schumer is putting pressure on the Fed and the Office of Thrift Supervision to enact restrictions on the business practices of credit card firms more quickly, the New York Daily News reports. The agencies have drafted new rules banning deceptive practices like hidden fees and retroactive rate hikes,... More »

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Congress • Charles Schumer • Federal Reserve • Chris Dodd • credit card • lending practices • Office of Thrift Supervision • predatory lending • credit card accounts

 White House Targets 
 Credit Card Chicanery 

Issuers coming under pressure to halt unfair, misleading practices

Apr 21, 09 5:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration is throwing its weight behind congressional efforts to crack down on credit card companies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lawmakers are pushing legislation to ban practices like arbitrarily raising interest rates on existing balances and the president is expected to take a hard line on the issue... More »

MORE ABOUT:
credit card • consumer debt • Obama administration • credit card accounts • Lawrence Summers

 Debt Settlers 
 Promise Relief, 
 Provide Little 



Cash-strapped consumers claim companies charge fees without reducing debt

Apr 20, 09 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - State attorneys general are being overwhelmed with complaints about “debt settlement” companies that promise consumers relief from mounting bills but rarely deliver, the New York Times reports. The number of such companies, which often collect fees of 15% of the total debt to negotiate with creditors, has tripled in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
credit card • consumer debt • household debt • consumer credit • debt collection • financial crisis • creditor

(Newser) - College students in 2008 carried an average of $3,173 in credit card debt, a huge jump from 4 years earlier, USA Today reports. A Sallie Mae study, when conducted in 2004, revealed an average balance of just $2,169. When students “can’t get private loans, they... More »

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education • university • recession • credit card • college tuition • college student • student debt • expenses

 Poll: Few Plan Splurges 
 With Tax Refunds 

More people than ever are just paying off bills

Apr 13, 09 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Taxpayers’ refund checks are starting to arrive, but this year the economy might not see much of a boost from that money, an AP poll finds. More people are planning to spend their refunds in some way, but 54% say they’ll pay off existing bills rather than go on... More »

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consumer spending • credit card • bills • splurges • tax refunds • taxpayers • financial crisis

Fee Hikes at Bailed-Out Banks Spur Investigation

Interest rates as high as 30% raise questions about program's effectiveness

Apr 13, 09 7:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Congressional overseers of the TARP program are investigating the lending practices of several of the banks they bailed out in response to complaints that the banks are raising interest rates and fees, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite receiving billions in taxpayer dollars, Bank of America last week nearly doubled... More »

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Citigroup • Bank of America • loans • credit card • fees • consumer credit • interest rates • Elizabeth Warren

(Newser) - A former California bookkeeper has been charged with embezzling nearly $10 million to bankroll her lavish shoe collection and gambling habit, the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Annette Yeomans, 51, stole about $100,000 a month from a woodworks company in San Marcos, Calif., sheriff's investigators say. Among her alleged indulgences... More »

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California • crime • credit card • embezzlement

Debt Collectors Fleece Relatives of the Dead

Getting bereaved to pay up one of the healthiest parts of industry

Mar 4, 09 11:26 AM CST
(Newser) - Bankruptcy and defaults are all the rage these days, but one group is being targeted to pay up: the dead. Entire debt collection agencies have cropped up that specialize in calling bereaved relatives and convincing them to pay the deceased’s debts, even though they have no legal obligation to... More »

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death • credit card • banking • consumer debt • debt collection • banking industry

Visa, Mastercard Warn
of New Data Breach

Alerts issued after malware infects another payment processor

Feb 24, 09 5:36 AM CST
(Newser) - Mastercard and Visa have alerted financial institutions about another serious data breach at a payment processor, Wired reports. The breach, like the massive fraud unveiled at Heartland Payment Systems last month, is believed to have occurred through malicious software. The credit card issuers are refusing to name the processor involved... More »

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hacker • credit card • data theft • cybercrime • Visa • malware • MasterCard

AmEx to Clients: Here's
$300, Now Get Lost

Credit card firm looks to limit exposure

Feb 23, 09 5:12 PM CST
(Newser) - American Express is offering some of its customers $300 to pay their balance and close their accounts, Reuters reports. The firm has been hit with staggering losses, exacerbated by their expansion in recent years to less well-heeled customers. American Express declined to say how many customers had received the buyout... More »

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American Express • credit card • credit • default • financial crisis • client

BofA Tricks People Into Paying the Dead's Bills 

Bank accused of shady practices in collecting cash from bereaved relatives

Feb 7, 09 7:34 AM CST
(Newser) - Bank of America has been misleading customers into believing they have to pay off the credit card bills of dead relatives, TPM reports. One customer was outraged when a bank rep tried to first trick, and then guilt-trip him into paying his dead mother's bills. A former rep for the... More »

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Bank of America • death • bank • credit card • banking • consumer debt • debt collection • banking industry

Credit Card Processor Bares Massive Hacker Breach

Sophisticated hackers nab vast amounts credit card data

Jan 21, 09 3:06 AM CST
(Newser) - A credit card payment processor has disclosed a data breach that experts believe could be the biggest ever and may be putting millions of consumers at risk of ripoffs, the Washington Post reports. Heartland Payment Systems, which handles 100 million transactions from 250,000 businesses every month, believes malicious software... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • online fraud • fraud • identity theft • credit card • malware • online payments • security breach

 Smarting, Credit Card 
 Companies Cut Rewards 

That airline ticket won't be so easily obtained in recession

Jan 13, 09 4:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Smarting from the sour economy, many credit-card companies are cutting back on rewards programs born out of 1980s excesses, USA Today reports. The cutbacks are akin to moves made by the airline industry last year as fuel prices skyrocketed. “You’re going to see more and more of the... More »

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recession • bank • American Express • credit card • Discover • JPMorgan Chase • financial crisis • rewards • rewards programs

ANALYSIS

$173B Later, Taxpayers
Still Can't Get a Loan

Consumer credit remains frozen, even at banks flush with bailout funds

Jan 6, 09 10:09 AM CST
(Newser) - Though US taxpayers own $172.5 billion of shares and warrants in 208 financial institutions, most of them still can’t get a loan. Interbank lending rates have fallen since TARP funds have been paid out, but consumer lending remains tight and average credit card rates are virtually unchanged from... More »

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credit card • Treasury Department • credit crisis • bailout • consumer credit • financial crisis • TARP

 Feds Overhaul
 Credit Card Rules 

New rules will tighten interest rates, could cost issuers $10B in revenue

Dec 18, 08 11:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Credit card companies will be forbidden from raising interest rates on existing debt after major changes to federal regulations OK'd today go into effect, USA Today reports. Starting in July 2010, the new rules will also restrict issuers' ability to cherry-pick higher-interest parts of balances to pay down first, and... More »

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Federal Reserve • credit card • Treasury Department • credit card loans • subprime crisis

ANALYSIS

Fed Cut Won't Translate Into Much for Consumers ... Yet

Its plans to buy more debt may unfreeze market in '09, but consumer rates stuck for now

Dec 17, 08 9:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Consumers hoping for lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages after the Federal Reserve dropped a key interest rate to near 0% yesterday aren’t likely to get a break soon, reports MarketWatch. But loans could be easier to get once the Fed’s other actions—buying... More »

MORE ABOUT:
student loans • credit card • mortgage rates • interest rate • interest rate cut • consumer credit • financial crisis

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