Visa net climbs 33% as spending picks up. Visa's second quarter profit grew by a third and exceeded analysts' expectations. Consumers spent more and Visa processed a greater number of payments, another encouraging sign that the economy is stabilizing. Spending on Visa-branded cards during the quarter jumped 13% from a year ago to $745 billion. The 10.6 billion transactions during the three-month period represented a 14% increase over year ago levels.
Brazil will limit fees credit card issuers charge consumers
Brazil's government is giving itself the authority to limit the fees that credit card companies can charge consumers. The National Monetary Council will be allowed to make rules on credit card fees and possibly broaden their authority to regulate credit cards.
The most expensive credit cards
Banks offer exclusive, high-end credit cards to their most affluent customers that the rest of us can only dream about. These cards come with high annual fees. For example, the American Express Centurian Card charges a $2,500 annual fee. Minimum spending requirements can be above $250,000. Only a small percentage of the population can qualify for these cards. But this is an attractive and profitable market for issuers since these households typically have excellent credit and a minimal risk of delinquency.
Protecting yourself against further APR increases
The Federal Reserve continues to keep short-term interest rates near zero. The prime rate will remain at 3.25%, its lowest level in decades but consumers are paying the highest interest rate in years on their credit cards. If the prime rate does start to increase later this year as some analysts predict, the APR for all variable rate credit cards will also increase. Here are a few steps consumers can take now to lower rates and pay off debts before interest rates rise again.
Federal Reserve posts new website for gift card rules
The Federal Reserve has created a new website that describes the Fed's rules and protections for gift cards which go into effect on August 22, 2010. The key changes include a limitation on the fees that can be charged on a gift card; all fees must be clearly disclosed; and the money on a gift card is good for five years.
Visa to crack down on misleading tactic
In response to a Congressional investigation, Visa is restricting the practice of "data pass." Investigators found that online customers were being billed for goods or services without ever intentionally providing their credit card numbers. Starting Sunday, Visa will not allow credit card companies to pass credit card information to third parties. The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee estimated that "data pass" had cheated 35 million consumers out of more than $1.4 billion in the past decade.
LowCards.com weekly credit card rate report
Based on the 1000+ cards in the LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index, the average advertised APR for credit cards this week increased to 13.56%, up slightly from the 13.55% last week. Six months ago, the average was 12.60%. One year ago, the average was 11.61%.
Candian credit cards at a turning point
Technology, government regulation and a lingering recession are transforming Canada's credit card industry. This could mean greater competition among issuers for premium customers. It may also create lower interest rates and greater payment flexibility for consumers. Credit card issuers must conform to stricter requirements for transparency which will enable customers to more clearly compare credit cards.
AO report says debt settlement firms misled consumers
A government investigation of the debt-settlement industry indicates that many firms exaggerated their ability to reduce consumers' loans and inflated their success rates. Some companies claimed success rates from 85% to 100% but the investigation found the rate to be less than 10%. Next week, a bill will be introduced in the Senate that prohibits certain fees and caps the total amount charged. It would also give consumers the power to cancel the program and receive a refund.
http://liveconcerns-waleed.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment