Credit Cards Blog

On Friday, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., fired off a letter to the CEOs of the Independent Community Bankers of America, or ICBA, and the Credit Union Nation Association, or CUNA, countering their arguments against reform of interchange fees for debit card transactions. According to the Senator’s website, his amendment, which the Senate

Pop quiz: Can you be a victim of credit or debit card fraud if you still have the physical card? As Sarah Palin would say, you betcha.  While card skimming isn’t new, recent skimming incidents, such as those at Bank of America ATMs recently, should serve as a reminder to protect your cards every time you

Debit card interchange reform is at stake as Congress begins to merge two financial reform bills into a final version. The amendment to the Senate bill, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, would allow the Federal Reserve to set “reasonable and proportional” interchange fees for debit cards issued by financial institutions with assets

This week Congress will begin working to reconcile the differences between financial reform bills passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. President Barack Obama has asked Congress for the final version by July 4. As currently written, the Senate legislation has more provisions in it that could affect credit card use and

Two reports to Congress from the Federal Reserve Board address whether credit card issuers use behavioral profiling tactics to adjust account terms and separately, if credit card rules similar to those under the Truth in Lending Act should extend to small business credit cards. Released late last month, these reports were required under provisions in the

The Credit CARD Act of 2009 required it and the Federal Reserve Board delivered it, but it’s probably of little value to any consumer trying to compare credit cards. I’m talking about the searchable database of credit card agreements the Federal Reserve Board posted to its website earlier this week. Section 204 of the Credit

Two studies released in the past week or so paint different pictures about credit risk, lenders and consumers. A FICO survey done by the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association showed that 59 percent of lenders are still concerned about credit card delinquencies. A Moody’s study released this week found that credit card charge-offs were down

Yesterday, the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, which has renamed itself CredAbility, released a new quarterly index that measures the financial health of the average American over time. The index uses a 100-point scale where anything below 70 indicates financial distress. The methodology is proprietary, but CredAbility uses data from public and government

Yesterday the Senate rejected a proposed amendment to the financial reform bill before Congress that would have imposed states’ usury limits on national banks that issue credit cards. Currently, a combination of laws makes credit card interest rate caps null and void. Federally-chartered credit unions have a usury cap of 18 percent for credit cards.

Beginning June 1, the Travelocity Rewards American Express card, issued by Barclaycard US, will be open for business. We’ve already completed our credit card rewards survey — which will be published on June 7 — so this card won’t make it. But its features are worth pointing out. First, it has a $39 annual fee. If