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Credit Card Debt Spikes on Campus

(Newser) - College students in 2008 carried an average of $3,173 in credit card debt, a huge jump from 4 years earlier, USA Today reports. A Sallie Mae study, when conducted in 2004, revealed an average balance of just $2,169. When students “can’t get private loans, they turn...

Poll: Few Plan Splurges With Tax Refunds

More people than ever are just paying off bills

(Newser) - Taxpayers’ refund checks are starting to arrive, but this year the economy might not see much of a boost from that money, an AP poll finds. More people are planning to spend their refunds in some way, but 54% say they’ll pay off existing bills rather than go on...

Fee Hikes at Bailed-Out Banks Spur Investigation

Interest rates as high as 30% raise questions about program's effectiveness

(Newser) - Congressional overseers of the TARP program are investigating the lending practices of several of the banks they bailed out in response to complaints that the banks are raising interest rates and fees, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite receiving billions in taxpayer dollars, Bank of America last week nearly doubled...

Woman Embezzles $10M for Shoe Habit: Police

(Newser) - A former California bookkeeper has been charged with embezzling nearly $10 million to bankroll her lavish shoe collection and gambling habit, the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Annette Yeomans, 51, stole about $100,000 a month from a woodworks company in San Marcos, Calif., sheriff's investigators say. Among her alleged indulgences...

Debt Collectors Fleece Relatives of the Dead

Getting bereaved to pay up one of the healthiest parts of industry

(Newser) - Bankruptcy and defaults are all the rage these days, but one group is being targeted to pay up: the dead. Entire debt collection agencies have cropped up that specialize in calling bereaved relatives and convincing them to pay the deceased’s debts, even though they have no legal obligation to...

Visa, Mastercard Warn of New Data Breach

Alerts issued after malware infects another payment processor

(Newser) - Mastercard and Visa have alerted financial institutions about another serious data breach at a payment processor, Wired reports. The breach, like the massive fraud unveiled at Heartland Payment Systems last month, is believed to have occurred through malicious software. The credit card issuers are refusing to name the processor involved...

AmEx to Clients: Here's $300, Now Get Lost

Credit card firm looks to limit exposure

(Newser) - American Express is offering some of its customers $300 to pay their balance and close their accounts, Reuters reports. The firm has been hit with staggering losses, exacerbated by their expansion in recent years to less well-heeled customers. American Express declined to say how many customers had received the buyout...

BofA Tricks People Into Paying the Dead's Bills

Bank accused of shady practices in collecting cash from bereaved relatives

(Newser) - Bank of America has been misleading customers into believing they have to pay off the credit card bills of dead relatives, TPM reports. One customer was outraged when a bank rep tried to first trick, and then guilt-trip him into paying his dead mother's bills. A former rep for the...

Credit Card Processor Bares Massive Hacker Breach

Sophisticated hackers nab vast amounts credit card data

(Newser) - A credit card payment processor has disclosed a data breach that experts believe could be the biggest ever and may be putting millions of consumers at risk of ripoffs, the Washington Post reports. Heartland Payment Systems, which handles 100 million transactions from 250,000 businesses every month, believes malicious software...

Smarting, Credit Card Companies Cut Rewards

That airline ticket won't be so easily obtained in recession

(Newser) - Smarting from the sour economy, many credit-card companies are cutting back on rewards programs born out of 1980s excesses, USA Today reports. The cutbacks are akin to moves made by the airline industry last year as fuel prices skyrocketed. “You’re going to see more and more of the...

$173B Later, Taxpayers Still Can't Get a Loan
$173B Later, Taxpayers
Still Can't Get a Loan
ANALYSIS
Jan 6, 2009 10:09 AM CST

$173B Later, Taxpayers Still Can't Get a Loan

Consumer credit remains frozen, even at banks flush with bailout funds

(Newser) - Though US taxpayers own $172.5 billion of shares and warrants in 208 financial institutions, most of them still can’t get a loan. Interbank lending rates have fallen since TARP funds have been paid out, but consumer lending remains tight and average credit card rates are virtually unchanged from...

Feds Overhaul Credit Card Rules
 Feds Overhaul
 Credit Card Rules 
Dec 18, 2008 11:53 AM CST

Feds Overhaul Credit Card Rules

New rules will tighten interest rates, could cost issuers $10B in revenue

(Newser) - Credit card companies will be forbidden from raising interest rates on existing debt after major changes to federal regulations OK'd today go into effect, USA Today reports. Starting in July 2010, the new rules will also restrict issuers' ability to cherry-pick higher-interest parts of balances to pay down first, and...

Fed Cut Won't Translate Into Much for Consumers ... Yet

Its plans to buy more debt may unfreeze market in '09, but consumer rates stuck for now

(Newser) - Consumers hoping for lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages after the Federal Reserve dropped a key interest rate to near 0% yesterday aren’t likely to get a break soon, reports MarketWatch. But loans could be easier to get once the Fed’s other actions—buying...

Fed Close to OK'ing Credit Card Relief

Thursday vote may ban surprise interest rate hikes, fees

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is poised to hand credit card companies a long-awaited blow this week, Reuters reports. A vote on Thursday is expected to approve 1,000 pages of consumer protections, including bans on surprise rate hikes and fees. Companies say the changes will force higher rates, but with Democrats...

Send That Online Pal an Off-Line Drink

'Give Real' allows users to give credits for bars, restaurants

(Newser) - For those who are sick of shelling out to send Facebook friends cupcake icons and virtual champagne bottles for occasions, the startup Give Real has the answer. Through their site (or via a Facebook app), you can buy a friend credits redeemable at nearly any bar or restaurant in America....

As Economy Tanks, Will Plastic Fade?

Debit, layaways tempt as consumers watch wallets

(Newser) - Will today’s wallet-watching leave a permanent dent in America’s beloved plastic? Likely to write off $45 billion this year, with billions more at stake, credit-card lenders are tightening rules and raising fees, the New York Times reports. “People are going to have to live within their means,...

Consumers May See 45% Cut in Available Credit

Lower credit-card limits are coming just as job losses soar

(Newser) - Americans already struggling with tight credit are in for another blow: banks may cut available credit card lines up to 45% over the next 18 months, reducing available credit by some $2 trillion, reports Reuters. Home equity and credit card limits already are lower than in the second quarter, an...

Cash Makes a Comeback
 Cash Makes a Comeback 
Nov 24, 2008 2:15 AM CST

Cash Makes a Comeback

But cash isn't king for retailers, who'll likely see bigger drop in sales

(Newser) - Americans are reverting to cash for purchases in increasing numbers, according to top retailers Wal-Mart, Target and JC Penney. The shift away from credit is expected to further reduce spending by consumers—who will be limited to cash-on-hand purchases—not just during the holiday season, but during what could be...

Ways to Cut Your Bills Down to Size

Usual belt-tightening suspects abound: Eat at home, cut out luxuries, get a second job

(Newser) - Spendthrift Americans from all rungs of the income ladder are taking a page from Scrooge these days, adopting new, cash-lite strategies to get through hard times, USA Today notes. They're managing to save by:
  • Hocking whatever's collecting dust in their closets: The average household has $3,200 worth of
...

Crisis Looms for Credit Cards
 Crisis Looms for Credit Cards 
ANALYSIS
Nov 14, 2008 3:10 PM CST

Crisis Looms for Credit Cards

Soaring defaults could fell normally resilient industry

(Newser) - Credit cards may be the next industry to be pummeled by the financial crisis, Time reports. The charge-off rate—money that lenders don't think they'll collect—is set to hit 10% in 2009. That's double the rate of the last decade and amounts to $96 billion in unpaid debt. Typically...

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