Card Commentary for Consumers
INNOVATION 2003
Bank One deserves First Place while Juniper Bank deserves Second Place; paying with your finger, with your arm, or your thoughts may become a reality; gift cards are very, very hot this year; the nation's top three card issuers now control 41% of the U.S. market; American Express extols the virtues of its charge cards over debit cards; and young females embrace the Internet for financial products. - (Dec 03)
JUICY PROFITS
Credit card profits could hit a dazzling record of $20 billion this year; the consolidation trend in the industry continues; PayPal becomes a bigger and bigger player; a new MasterCard gets wired to the phone; a new VISA card targets Floridians without bank accounts; the U.S. government zaps another Canadian card scam; and Citibank offers Cards 101 to college students. (November 03) 		 
MARKET COLLISION
Three card issuers with huge marketing muscle wrestle in the super-prime market; three major networks take swings at each other over the debit card settlement and rules that prevent members from issuing competitor's cards; rent payments via credit cards soar; small business volume outpaces corporate and government usage; a real Mini credit card is marketed; and VISA and Disney jointly launch their second major promotion. (October2003)
CARD EMAIL
As credit card telemarketing becomes crimped, look for more card-related email and snail mail; Mini cards are catching on; Wal-Mart debit card lawsuit makes attorneys rich; movies and credit cards come together; Sears card sale gets blessing of regulators; and purchasing cards capture $80 billion in spending. (September 2003) 		 
CARDS UNPLUGGED
Cash was king once again when the lights went out; College kids should get debit cards not credit cards, says most consumers; Sub-prime issuer has to cough up big refunds; Someone says credit cards made them gamble online; VISA's new 'Mini" card is a hit; MasterCard grows nicely in the first half of this year, and, 50% of all credit cards may be acquired online this year.(Aug 03)
FCRA NIGHTMARE
The potential expiration of the federal "Fair Credit Reporting Act" preemption could cause 14 million Americans to lose access to credit. A new study recently released found that more than 88% of consumers' credit scores would be affected if a patchwork of state laws were allowed to replace the current national consumer credit system. (July 03)
SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
The look of plastic is changing as issuers battle for attention; Capital One gets an unprecedented rate break on mail; American Express and American Airlines launch a biz card; AmEx sings the blues this summer; Box Tops tops $90 Million; a Southern bank launches low redemption biz card; Bank One and British Airways take off; Middle class loves gift cards; and Young Americans are doing okay, financially. (June 03)
FUTURE DEBIT
Wal-Mart and big retailers negotiate with VISA and MasterCard through the court system to deeply-cut merchant debit fees; U.S. debit card user fees may follow the Australian trend; There may a silver lining in the upcoming debit card changes; More consumers prefer to use a PIN for debit card purchases; Delinquency and Charge-Offs rise due to sub-prime credit cards; MasterCard for families arrives; On Target to help schools; and foreign cash transfers get cheaper. (May 03)
UNDER ATTACK
Everyone is gunning for VISA and MasterCard as the card networks lose pretrial motions in a major debit card lawsuit and are ordered to refund foreign transaction fees in another lawsuit; Foreign regulators attack VISA and MasterCard merchant fees; First Data prepares to eat VISA's and MasterCard's lunch; Infrared payments will be piloted in Tokyo this summer; and the average cost to acquire a credit card account in the USA is now $78. (Apr 03)
ECONOMIC M.O.A.B.
An Iraq attack could become the "Mother of All Bombs" for the economy; Average credit card debt hits $8,940 per household or $7,286 per household, depending on how you slice or dice it; US Airways and its credit card processor face a real dilemma; Debit card users get more incentives; Target becomes 18th largest credit card issuer; 7-Eleven offers new prepaid keychain card; Bankruptcies may top 1.6 million this year; and more Card scams surface. (Mar 03)
Short Stick
When it comes to fighting credit card issuers, consumers get the short end of the stick whether they file a class action lawsuit or individual binding arbitration; Credit bureaus will soon change the way they report co-signor bankruptcy; Campus credit card promotions get ugly; American Express strikes gold with new reward cards; Card incentives pick up this year; New payroll cards surface for the unbanked; and, the FTC nails more scamsters. (Feb 03)
Foggy 2003
Foggy 2003 - Last year's economy was funky, this year's will be foggy; Credit card interest rates and card size will be smaller this year while airline cards and debit cards get sweeter; Regulators finally crack down on sub-prime lending practices and other card schemes that bury consumers; Card mail remains strong in a saturated market; Online card usage starts to boom; Infrared payments take shape; and, a Major card scam gets busted. (Jan 03)
 
Past Commentaries
 • 2004
 • 2003
 • 2002
 • 2001
 • 2000
 • 1999
 • 1998
 • 1997
 • 1996
 • 1995
 • 1994
 • 1993
 • 1992
 • 1991

no ads in rotation "consumerinfo_button"
 • Free Weekly Newsletter

Search Commentaries:
 • Surveys
 • CardNews
 • Search Site
 • Home