Believe it or not, the endless supply of credit card customers are drying up. Credit card companies are now turning to new ways to generate an income from their customers, with companies like Discover going so far to create new divisions for student loans and mortgages.
As part of a new promotional offer, credit card company Discover has launched a deal which would give customers a 5% discount on a loan-appraisal service though its cashback rewards cards. The offer would allow customers to...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made quick work of changing the regulatory landscape in consumer finance, announcing record settlements with credit card companies, reforming student loans, and enforcing strict new standards.
In 2013, the CFPB could really show its teeth. Previously, the bureau was held back back by Dodd-Frank language that kept it from making broader changes. This year, that language expires, and full regulatory powers are extended to the bureau, which it...
Justin Bieber will promote a new credit card, breathing new life into celebrity-endorsed credit and debit cards.
The teen singing sensation will work with a company known as BillMyParents to introduce prepaid credit cards to a new market – those who aren't old enough for a credit card. The SpendSmart card will feature the easy convenience of paying with plastic and encourage parents to provide prepaid cards to their kids to track and moderate their spending habits.
Bieber isn't the...
An image of a new credit card from technology company Apple made the rounds last week on the internet, creating a new sensation and triggering hundreds of articles and buzz about Apple's possible entry into the credit card market. Days later, though, it does not appear as though Apple is making a legitimate entry into the credit card market.
Apple does seem to have its eyes set on the mobile payments market, however. Analysts say that the iPhone, iPad, and iTunes work as a new way for Apple...
Banking giant JP Morgan Chase could be the newest player in daily deals, an industry that blossomed as shoppers wanted deep discounts from companies like Groupon, LivingSocial and other online coupon companies. In a recent deal, JP Morgan Chase agreed to acquire daily deal company Bloomspot to bring instant deals to its credit card customers.
JP Morgan Chase plans to integrate Bloomspot's daily deals to its vast credit card portfolio. The idea is simple, JP Morgan Chase knows what customers...
More people than ever plan to buy a home in the next six months. That means more people going to the bank for a mortgage loan, and more people who will need a good credit score in order to finance the biggest purchase of their life.
Luckily for borrowers, credit scores are on the rise. The average borrower is repaying debt and making use of ultra-low interest rates to finance major purchases like a car or home at a rate well under historical norms. If you're in the market for a home, though,...
As 2012 comes to a close and credit card companies look to 2013, the makeup of the average credit card offer is changing. This year, credit card solicitations were up heavily with marked increases in the number of credit cards offered to subprime customers.
TransUnion released its own projections for 2013, noting that it expected credit card debt to rise again to 2009 levels. It also expects that 90-day delinquencies will rise from lows not seen since nearly two decades ago. Credit card...
Shopping for just the right gift can be difficult and time-consuming, that's why gift cards have grown to become a billion-dollar industry. This week, Square, a payment system that uses proprietary hardware to run credit cards on a mobile device, is now offering its members the opportunity to purchase gift cards from all businesses that use its payment network.
Here's how the new product works:
1) Users download the Square app to their mobile device or log in online to shop...
According to data from the Federal Reserve, American households continue to see their net worths improve. Net financial net worth including real estate, stocks, and other assets rose to $64.77 trillion. This leaves Americans with just $1.2 trillion less in net worth than when household net worth peaked in 2007.
Three factors are driving American net worth gains. First, Americans continue to benefit from rising home prices. Real estate prices rose by roughly $300 billion, adding significantly...
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, thousands of homes, miles of power lines, and as many as 250,000 cars may have been destroyed. The states' insurance companies will make reimbursements to as many as people as possible, but reimbursements may come in a different form this year.
In an effort to make insurance reimbursements accessible for everyone, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a new executive order that allows the state's regulated insurance companies to send out paper checks or...
New data from the Federal Reserve demonstrates that credit card users with balances are more likely to pay than student loan borrowers. This is the first time ever that student loan delinquencies are higher than credit card delinquencies.
Of all the nearly $1 trillion in student loan debt outstanding and due in September 2012, 11% of it was delinquent, meaning that one-ninth of all student loan debt is being repaid by someone having trouble paying the bills. This rate was significantly...
According to the National Retail Federation, the average American holiday shopper will spend $749.51 on their holiday shopping in 2012. That is a 1.2 percent improvement over the spending level a year earlier.
So far, the data for shopping has been favorable. Black Friday shopping offline totaled to more than $22 billion in 2012. Customers also visited more stores, with data researchers finding that Americans made more than 594 million visits to unique stores. A visit is counted when one...