With a ton of buzz over the past few months, Bitcoins have become a fairly well-known concept in the world of online currency. Last week, the currency gained a new level of legitimacy as a prepaid card was unveiled that can be funded in full via Bitcoins.
Start-up company, The Bitcoin Card, launched its MasterCard-branded prepaid solution with great fanfare from within the Bitcoin community. Many Bitcoin users have long been searching for more traditional outlets through which Bitcoins can...
Having a solid investment upon which you can rely in troubling times seems like a no-brainer – when pertaining to real estate, many are now beginning to ponder making improvements and reinvesting in their homes since the housing market seems to be picking up steam once again. Others are considering an investment in their properties in order to improve the prospects of the property selling in the coming months.
Whatever the motivation, many have asked whether using a credit card to make...
Earlier this week, a bombshell was dropped as leaked information showed that Verizon and other major cell phone companies had been served with secret court orders to hand out cellular information on millions of their customers.
What has garnered less attention, however, is the fact that several major credit card companies have received the same requests.
Outlined in a report by the Washington Post, a program only known as PRISM has been in effect for quite some time – utilizing the...
With the average person having thousands of dollars of credit card debt and the average household holding on tens of thousands of dollars of debt, many are feeling their past spending habits coming back to haunt them. Everybody knows that paying down their credit card debt is the smart thing to do, but many do not know how to rectify the spending habits that led to problem in the first place.
Fortunately, developing a plan for reducing credit card debt and preventing its recurrence is fairly...
Over the past several months, major retailers and credit card companies have been fighting it out over the concept of swipe fees. A tentative settlement was reached, but it appears that some major retailers are baulking at the terms and conditions of the agreed-upon resolution.
At the crux of the argument and disagreement, retailers are saying that the settlement does nothing to prevent the same problems from arising again – namely, that credit card companies would still have the power to...
With so much going on in the world of credit cards these days, it can be difficult to keep up with all the latest trends and events. As technology becomes a greater and greater influence in our daily lives, it can be assumed that the same effects will be felt on how we interact with our credit cards and as such, how we shop. Industry analysts have been outlining what may occur over the next few years so that both consumers and card companies can make preparations accordingly. If you have been...
Continue readingThe Attorney General of California announced this week that charges will be brought against JPMorgan Chase for inundating the state's courts with an array of lawsuits against holders of credit card debt.
Filed by Kamala Harris, the complaint outlines that JPMorgan Chase committed debt collection violations against tens of thousands of California residents. The company has been reported to have filed thousands of lawsuits between 2008 and 2011 that sought to collect debt from past due credit...
Many were expecting Google to unveil a new physical credit card to complement its Google Wallet service at the developer conference. Unfortunately, those expectations were dashed by a recent leak from credible sources that the internet giant would not be doing so in the near future.
Some speculation as to why this happened involved the head of Google Wallet, Osama Bidier, who may be leaving the company. A recent memo distributed within Google is claimed to outline the axing of the product...
Growth of credit card-related debt ground to a virtual standstill in March, increasing only by $8 billion. This increase marks the slowest increase in credit card use in the past eight months, which many are saying is a key indicator that most Americans are not willing to use high-interest credit.
The largest sector of growth in this category was student loans and automobile purchases, which saw a $10 billion increase from the previous month. A measurement of total credit card debt, however,...
The newly-created US consumer watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, issued a revision of a policy initially adopted in 2009 in order to extend credit access to many people who have been cut off for several years due to qualifications for independent income.
Under the Credit CARD Act, a key stipulation of the bill was one that insisted that credit cardholders demonstrate viability to pay for purchases (proof of income) before being approved for a card. This led to many...
Suffering from a medical condition such as ADHD or mania associated with bipolar disorder is one of the biggest reasons for impulse shopping. Because of the nature of the disorders, many people will use their credit cards without considering the real ramifications of their actions – which can lead to skyrocketing debt and no real sense of fulfillment.
Due to the fact that purchasing an item gives the buyer an instant reward without requiring actual cash up-front, many can find themselves...
With newer technologies like near field communication (NFC) being implemented into the latest credit and debit cards, it was only a matter of time before thieves began taking advantage of the situation.
Recent reports from Canada are showing that it is easier than ever to steal sensitive credit card information from unsuspecting individuals without leaving a trace. The process works by using a popular smartphone – in this case, the Samsung Galaxy SIII – along with a mobile phone...