The average level of credit card debt rose by 4.9% from July to September in a spending spree that leads into the back to school and holiday shopping periods. According to TransUnion, the average borrower now has $4,996 of credit card debt.
The statistics in TransUnion's latest report reflect that American defaults are also bottoming near their historic lows at .75%, slightly higher than the .71% delinquency rate as of last year. Considering the high rate of defaults on mortgages and car...
New research reveals a startling finding about credit card debt: it may be the product of friendships and social networks.
The study, which appears in the Journal of Consumer Research, shows a positive correlation between time spent on Facebook and credit card debt. Researchers tested the idea on candidates, giving them access to the social networking site before asking them to participate in several real world decision-making problems.
The study confirms what some have named...
American Express has been making big moves recently, teaming up with Walmart and now Microsoft in a bid to bring its products to more users in new demographics. American Express has historically targeted older, wealthier Americans, but the new steps might just solidify American Express as a credit card for everyone.
The partnership between American Express and Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox live service will boast big advantages for gamers. On the Xbox Live dashboard, the American Express...
American personal finances continue to approve, according to new research from Consumer Reports. The Consumer Reports Index, a statistical measure of the standing of Americans' personal finances, indicates that the American consumer is better positioned than at any point since 2009 when data was fist compiled.
The Consumer Reports Index looks at five different variables to determine total financial health including employment, retail, personal sentiment, financial stress, and a “Trouble...
As part of the 2009 CARD Act, opening a credit card as a college student became far more difficult. Now more than two years after the bill was passed the public can see the effects of regulatory reform. Overall, it's not good for credit card companies.
According to a report released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the number of college credit card agreements between banks and colleges dropped precipitously in 2011. The data shows that the number of agreements plummeted to 798 in...
MasterCard unveiled a new technology that would add a new touchpad and LCD screen to every credit card. The company hopes that the device will make credit card processing more secure for users, and bring about a few new features that separate MasterCard from the competition.
The new "Display Card" will look very much like a modernized four function calculator, but be as thin as any other credit card. The keypad will allow customers to input specific authentication tokens when making various...
Some companies offer zero-interest, same as cash financing for new users of their credit cards. This service is most popular in major retailers and specialty stores with their own unique credit cards. While zero interest may sound appealing, let's see why you should be sure to pay off the balance before the zero interest period ends.
Retroactive interest
Any "same as cash" financing period comes with a major catch: retroactive interest. When you use your credit card to buy a product, your...
Google, a company better known for online search than consumer finance, may soon launch its own kind of the credit card. The company has been hard at work hoping to launch Google Wallet, a phone app that would allow consumers to make payments with their phones rather than their credit cards.
Now reports are surfacing that Google may create its own physical credit card to be used in lieu of the online payments app. The Wallet card, as it may be known, will aggregate all credit cards onto a...
The credit scoring company, FICO, released data about its best credit risks - the people who score in the top 25 of all credit scores. The company finds several commonalities among the people with the best credit scores.
People with the highest credit scores are those who have an average of seven credit cards, but only use four at any one time. This trait undoubtedly points to the age of accounts among people with high credit lines. Typically, new cards are opened and old cards are...
Starting January 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will have a new industry to regulate: debt collectors. The CFPB is making waves in consumer finance, striking deals with the credit card industry as well as bankers at large to make the industry operate on rules that stress fairness and clarity for consumers.
The CFPB will have regulatory authority over debt collectors who collect money from consumers for personal, household, or student loan debt issued by the federal government....
One of the very simple but so important factors in any loan is the interest rate. Depending on how you calculate an interest rate, the amount that you pay in interest changes dramatically.
There are two different interest rates:
Annual Percentage Yield - Annual percentage yield is the rate that the bank or credit card company uses as its nominal rate. The APY is the rate that will be divided into periods and then compounded. A credit card at 18% APY would be divided into 12 for...
Congress has a new idea to raise money: report unpaid taxes to credit bureaus. Currently, unpaid taxes and existing tax debts are not reported thanks to a law which gives taxpayers privacy in their private finances. Only liens on property, such as a home, are made public and such liens do become part of an individual's credit report.
Unpaid taxes amount to $373.2 billion for all individuals and businesses in the United States. Reporting these debts to credit bureaus, Congress believes, might...