Accelerated holiday sales kept some big spenders from making payments on their credit cards in the last three months of 2012, in line with seasonality. The 90-day delinquencies were reported by TransUnion at .85 percent of all credit card balances, up from .78 in 2011.
The seasonality in credit card payment trends is due in part to aggressive spending by holiday gift givers in the fourth quarter. Additionally, many workers regain employment only to lose it later in fast-paced temporary...
Springfield, IL will soon do what many of its residents do to save money: start using a cash back credit card. The budget director, Bill McCarty, announced that the city wants to expand the ways in which it makes payments to vendors in order to get a cash back reward each time it makes a payment.
The city has long made payments by check and credit card, but it hopes to start using a new credit card to make even more payments, and thus increase the amount it saves when one considers the total...
A new study may explain the love affair with plastic payment methods: shopping presents a therapeutic outlet to relieve stress and worry. A series of studies from the University of Michigan followed undergraduates who were presented with a number of scenarios and shopping experiences.
In one study, forty four percent of students opted to purchase a snack after viewing a bullying incident on video. Those who reported sadness were the most likely to purchase a snack. Those who...
A new study into the effects of credit card reports finds that as many as 5% of all consumers could be paying more interest due to inaccuracies on their credit reports. The Federal Trade Commission sponsored the study, which looked into how three major bureaus had reported information for more than 1,000 study participants.
Most shocking might be the distribution of inaccuracies. According to the data, nearly one in four participants had a significant error on one of three of their...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking a new look into financial products marketed toward students, starting with credit cards. The newly created bureaucracy has been relentless in reforming the credit card market, having first tackled the issue of high fees and complicated repayment terms.
Now the CFPB will seek to better understand the impact of student marketing, especially as it relates to credit cards. The Bureau is seeking public comment on issues such as the amount...
Consumer credit rose to $2.778 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve, an increase of $14.6 billion in only one month. The borrowing amounts were in excess of the $13 billion expected by economists, showing strength and consumer confidence as American releverage to make big purchases. The fastest growing portion of consumer credit continues to be in nonrevolving credit for student loans and car notes. Nonrevolving credit increased by $18.2 billion in December 2012, much faster than any...
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While the race for lower and lower introductory interest rates from American credit card companies races on, rates past the promotional period are stagnant, up only modestly for the first time since October 2012.
The national average for credit card interest rates rests at 14.96%, up from months of consistent declines or no change at all since 2012. Those in the low interest category swept with interest rates just barely in the double digits, for an average of 10.29%, or 11 basis points...
In what may have been the biggest story in credit in 2013, it was revealed that credit scoring company Equifax had sold data on millions of individuals to other companies.
Equifax, through a product known as The Work Number, sells personal information about Americans' employment and salary records to marketers and businesses alike.
But how does Equifax's information sale affect you? Perhaps less than thought.
Companies already have access to data based on your zip code, place of...
This week retailers were granted one of the biggest wins in credit card history: the ability to add a surcharge to customers' purchases when the payer used a credit card to make a payment.
In a landmark settlement between the credit card processors and merchants, retailers now have the ability to charge a fee to process credit cards equal to up to 4% of a customers purchase.
This means that you could soon pay $.80 for a $20 swipe, or $4 for a $100 purchase made with a credit card to help...
Banks are reinvigorating the market for the travel card, boosting rewards in an effort to grab new customers eager to see the world on their credit card company's dime. The new promotions will feature more introductory miles, faster miles accumulation, and incentives for big spenders to use their cards in the first few months of ownership.
In February, US Bank intents to raise initial bonus points on its FlexPerks card. This comes after JP Morgan doubled its bonus miles on a British Airways...
A new study shows the effects of the CARD Act and better informed consumers in falling penalty revenues. The study shows that consumers paid only $17.8 billion in penalty fees in 2012, down from $19.4 billion in 2011, an 8% decrease.
Analysts watch the R.K. Hammer Card Penalty Fee Index as a way to see how penalties and fees affect consumer finance companies. The Index has fallen for three years in a row, ever since the CARD Act was passed in May 2009. The CARD Act significantly reduced the...
Credit card debt is often correlated with age. Many believe that younger consumers are more likely to carry credit card debt as their incomes are lower and their savings have yet to have been built. However, a new study finds that low income older consumers carry higher balances than their younger counterparts.
A study from AARP reveals that low and middle-income Americans 50 years or older had an average credit card balance of $8,278 in 2012, compared to $6,258 for people younger than 50....