CardTrak - Tracking Payment Payment Cards for the U.S. Consumer Since 1986

Last year, Americans paid $50.6 billion in household bills, including cable TV, home and cell phone, insurance and rent with VISA debit and credit cards. The figure is 27% above 2002, and more than double the volume in 2000. VISA says a recent study it conducted found that consumers who settle their bills electronically pay an average of four bills per month with a card and have done so for two to three years. VISA also found that 33% of consumers who pay bills automatically indicated that they are much more likely to continue their relationship with their billing merchant. The study revealed that convenience is a critical factor in the shift to bill payment with a card, with over half of the respondents citing it as the main attraction and specifically noting improved financial tracking capabilities and assuring on-time payment as key benefits. In addition, the opportunity to earn rewards on bills was cited as an advantage by survey participants.

A recent survey by Northwestern Mutual found that fewer than 40% of parents talked about credit cards with their kids. According to the Northwestern Mutual survey, the idea of earning, saving and budgeting money is a subject that the majority of parents have discussed with their children. Parents definitely felt they could use some help in the money management education process and see the school system as the answer. The poll showed that about 43% of those asked would like schools to do more to educate children about money.

Yet another new study has found that gift cards accounted for 10% of the $226 billion in holiday sales last year. The research found that about 75% of U.S. consumers want to receive monetary gifts during the holiday season. The report goes on to say that nearly 70% of holiday shoppers this year would like to give cash, gift cards, or gift certificates.

Bank One and Southwest Airlines have expanded their co-branded VISA program to include a business card and a "VISA Signature" card. The new "Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards VISA Business" card offers two "Reward Dollars" for every dollar in Southwest purchases and one "Reward Dollar" for every dollar in all other card purchases. In addition, business owners will receive accrual of "Rapid Rewards Credits" for "Reward Dollars" earned on employee cards issued on the business account. The new "Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards VISA Signature" offers two "Reward Dollars" for every dollar in Southwest purchases versus one "Reward Dollar" on the existing "Southwest Airlines Platinum VISA" card. Under both programs one "Rapid Rewards Credit" is issued for every 1,200 "Reward Dollars" earned. After earning 16 credits in 12 consecutive months, cardholders receive an automatic roundtrip award. The "Rapid Rewards VISA" was launched in 1996 by Bank One/First USA.

American Express has added the "Universal Golf Ticket" to its "Membership Rewards" program offering access to more than 1,600 golf courses throughout North America. In the retail category, AmEx has added partners Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and Spa; ESCADA; Molton Brown, and, Fortunoff. In the dining & entertainment category, enrollees can now redeem points for entertainment events through Telecharge.com and New York City's Tribeca Film Festival; fine Hawaiian Fusion cuisine at Roy's; meals at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., an operator of independent restaurants throughout the Midwest; and upscale dining at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants. AmEx also recently added space experiences through partner Space Adventures.

VISA continues to pull ahead of MasterCard in the U.S. credit card horse race as the gap between the two widened to more than 11 million cards at the end of last year. MasterCard surpassed VISA during the third quarter of 2002 in the number of U.S. credit cards in circulation, and held the leader position for three consecutive quarters. However, VISA edged ahead in the second quarter of 2003 by 1.4 million cards, and expanded the lead by 6.9 million cards in 3Q/03. By the end of 2003, VISA had 283.7 million credit cards versus MasterCard's 272.6 million credit cards. At the end of 2002 MasterCard was 8.5 million cards ahead of VISA. For the fourth quarter of 2002, MasterCard had 266.9 million U.S. credit cards while VISA had 258.4 million cards.

VISA this month reported that its PIN POS brand, "Interlink," posted a 43% increase in dollar volume and a 39% increase in the number of transactions for January, compared to one-year ago. At the end of the third quarter, "Interlink" had 1,266,024 merchants locations, and more than 70 million "Interlink"-branded debit cards in the marketplace. To date, there are more than 980 issuers of "Interlink." In January, "Interlink" processed more than 93 million transactions worth $3.3 billion in volume, compared to 67 million transactions worth $2.3 billion in January 2003. VISA's ATM-brand, "Plus," has about 364,000 ATMs in the USA and processes about 425 million transactions per year.

Union Bank of Taiwan has launched a new MasterCard in the shape of a map of Taiwan. The "Union Bank Travel Card" is the fifth "MasterCard SideCard" to be launched in Taiwan since October, and is the first card in the world to be map-shaped. The "MasterCard SideCard" is a companion card to a full-sized MasterCard card and features a modified design small enough to fit on a key ring. The MasterCard SideCard is the premier offering from the "MasterCard Alternative Card Forms" program. The other MasterCard SideCard cards launched in Taiwan include "ChinFon Bank SideCard," "Entie Bank Petite SideCard," "Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank and Wellcome Supermarket Co-Branded SideCard" and "E.SUN Bank and Elephant Baseball Club Co-Branded SideCard."

w Capital One and Consumer Action have launched the "MoneyWi$e" Web site. "MoneyWi$e" is the first program of its kind to combine free, multilingual financial education materials with community training and seminars for consumers at all income levels. "MoneyWi$e" topics include understanding and building good credit, basic money management, banking basics, talking to teens about money, and understanding the pros and cons of bankruptcy. Consumer Action is a non-profit, membership-based organization founded in San Francisco in 1971.

Washington Mutual has introduced a new program for its "VISA Check Card" to generate donations for K-12 schools. Under the "WaMoola for Schools" program, customers with a "Washington Mutual VISA Check Card" enroll by selecting a school to benefit. The designated public or private school will receive a point worth approximately five cents for each purchase made using the card. At the end of the year, the points will be converted into cash and schools will receive a check from Washington Mutual. Actual rewards can vary, however, since Washington Mutual also plans to run special promotions including an offer to double points for check card purchases made through this coming April 30. Parents can choose a child's school, grandparents and aunts and uncles can also participate, and even neighbors can designate a local school. Enrollees who do not have a specific school in mind can opt to have points allocated to a local underserved school.