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CARDNEWS FOR CONSUMERS
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(5/31/02)
Tiny Issuers
While the ten largest issuers control more then three-quarters of the total bank credit card market, there are thousands of tiny players successfully competing. Based on issuer date for the first three months of this year, average balances and volume for credit cards issued by credit unions, exceed the stats of the top players.
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(5/30/02)
Corvette Card
General Motors and Household Bank are revving up to put some more horsepower into their MasterCard program. Next month, Household and GM will unleash the first-ever officially licensed Corvette MasterCard. The credit card program will begin in June as part of the kickoff of Corvette's 50th anniversary celebration.
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(5/29/02)
Debt Fever
After years of maxing out credit cards, the debt fever appears to be subsiding among Americans. New surveys show that Americans are getting better with debt management, smartly shop for credit cards by interest rates, and do not consider bankruptcy as a viable alternative.
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(5/28/02)
Privacy vs. Rates
A new study suggests that proposed opt-in privacy regulations could drive credit card interest rates higher. The study says the intense rate competition over the past decade was driven, in part, by information-based strategies used by card issuers, particularly non-bank issuers, such as MBNA and Capital One.
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(5/24/02)
Card Leaders
The fastest growing bank credit card issuers in the US are not traditional banks, but retailers. Target is leading the way as the fastest growing VISA issuer while Sears is leading the MasterCard pack. This week, Target has moved into the Top 25 of U.S. card issuers as its VISA outstandings topped $2 billion in the quarter ending May 4th.
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(5/23/02)
Discover Hike
Credit card costs continue to spiral upward this year as another major issuer ramps up interest rates. Discover now joins Citibank, Chase, and Providian in raising APRs this year even though the Feds have not dickered with interest rates since December. Discover is notifying cardholders it will raise rates on existing purchase balances to 16.99% and to 22.99% for cash advance balances, effective June 15th.
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(5/22/02)
Bankruptcy Rush
As U.S. House-Senate bankruptcy conferees convene today for a final debate over amendments to bankruptcy reform legislation, Americans are flooding the courts with bankruptcy petitions. During the first three months of this year, 379,012 bankruptcy petitions were filed, the highest number of cases ever filed in any first calendar quarter.
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(5/21/02)
ONE Account
The next battleground for credit cards is not perks or pricing, but rather, relationship. As banks evolve into one-stop financial service supermarkets, American Express wants to be a player too. Last week, AmEx announced a new relationship account that ties together investing, banking, and a payment card.
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(5/17/02)
Late Fee Bug
The late fee bug has bitten more than half of all U.S. cardholders over the past twelve months. Since 1996, late fee revenues generated to bank credit card issuers has soared from $1.7 billion to $7.3 billion, annually. An informal online poll conducted in early May by CardWeb.com, found that 58.3% of consumers say they have been hit with a late fee during the past year.
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(5/16/02)
Summer of 2002
Most Americans have shaken off travel concerns over 9/11, giving the leisure travel industry a much needed boost. However many consumers are opting for shorter, "power" weekend trips. According to the 2002 American Express Leisure Travel Index, 54% of survey respondents say they plan to travel at least as much this year as last year...
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(5/15/02)
Orbitz Card
A new air miles credit card has taken off that offers no limit on the number of points you can earn and no black-out dates for travel. Orbitz and Juniper Bank have teamed to offer the Orbitz Platinum MasterCard. The new card offers consumers the opportunity to earn Orbitz Rewards points that can be redeemed for discounted or free airline tickets on Orbitz.com.
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(5/14/02)
Circuit City VISA
Next month the first co-branded VISA credit card from a national consumer electronics specialty retailer will hit the market. The new Circuit City PLUS Visa credit card features no annual fee; access to special Circuit City promotions, including zero percent financing; and a 60-day guaranteed low-price program applicable to purchases at most retail stores.
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(5/13/02)
Profit Machine
The FDIC reports that the top 25 banking companies grew their earnings significantly in the first quarter amid a significant resurgence in U.S. economic activity. Leading credit card issuers Capital One and MBNA also posted very strong earnings.
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(5/10/02)
Dibz Card
A new prepaid, stored value teen card will hit the market next month. The Dibz Card will be promoted through sponsoring and partnering with extreme sports events and athletes under the slogan "I Got Dibz!".
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(5/9/02)
IRS Fallout
Using credit cards to pay federal income taxes took a nose dive this filing season, thanks to the soft economy. The Internal Revenue Service said that tax payments via credit cards declined 19.3% between 2001 and 2002. During the 2002 tax filing season, the IRS received 215,200 credit card transactions for a total of $574.4 million in income tax payments.
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(5/8/02)
Tiger Card
The most famous golfer in the world is getting ready to tee off a credit card this month.
American Express is preparing to launch the new Tiger Woods Credit Card in Canada. This is the first time Woods has given his name directly to an American Express product even though he has been a spokesman for AmEx since 1997.
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(5/7/02)
Debit Float
Most debit cards do not offer a float like credit cards do, but this is about to change as Ohio-based Charter One Financial launches a delayed-debit MasterCard. The new SmartBusiness OneCard gives Charter One small business customers the option of having their funds debited monthly or semimonthly.
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(5/6/02)
Upromise Birthday
The Upromise college savings program celebrates its first anniversary this month after signing up more than one million members so far. The program includes the Citibank Upromise MasterCard which offers a 1% rebate on all card purchases, in addition to bonus rebates earned through other Upromise participants.
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(5/3/02)
Citi.You MasterCard
After tinkering with its new smart credit card for six months, Citibank is finally unleashing its new Citi.You MasterCard. The card offers the novel ability to customize the card with a name chosen by the cardholder as well as some other special features.
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(5/2/02)
BabyMint MasterCard
A college savings program is being beefed-up this month with a new MasterCard feature. Atlanta-based BabyMint, Inc. & MBNA have teamed to launch the BabyMint MasterCard. The new card offers a 1% cash-back rebate, no annual fee, and no limit to the amount of rebates earned.
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(5/1/02)
Touch Payments
Instead of letting your "fingers do the shopping" let "your fingers do the paying." Starting today, a Seattle supermarket will enable customers to make purchases in the store from their existing financial accounts with a simple touch of a finger at the checkout lane. The Pay By Touch service was developed by Indivos Corporation and is being piloted at the West Seattle Thriftway Supermarket.
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