While prepaid cards may benefit a person who doesn’t qualify for a credit card, you should understand there are numerous types of fees connected with them. If you want low fees, stay with a debit card. Only two good reasons exist for using a prepaid card, according to CardHub.com’s Prepaid Cards Report for 2011. One is as an alternate to a checking account; the other is for managing a child’s allowance.
Keep reading...Although growth for the six major U.S. credit card issuers remains stable, forecasters see promising signs of substantial profit growth to come. The landscape for card issuers is changing, from adjustments needed accommodate the Durbin Amendment and the CARD Act, to merchant litigation, and to new competitive forces entering the marketplace due to technology for digitalization of payments. Despite that, growth prospects in the industry look much better than a year ago.
Keep reading...Men and women do not handle financial matters the same way, and that includes how they use and manage credit cards, a recent study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation concludes. FINRA stands for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest independent regulator for securities firms that do business in the United States. The Education Foundation is dedicated to helping people better understand markets, saving and investing.
Keep reading...Paying your taxes with your credit card can be a bad idea because of the processing fees attached. If the processing fees are higher than your rewards, what you gain on convenience you lose in dollars when paying by credit card. Third party providers who process your credit card to pay for your taxes normally change a fee ranging from 1.89% to 3.93% but averaging 2.35%[1] of your tax bill. This can amount to quite a lot. In addition, if you don’t pay your balance off at the end of the month, you pay interest.
Keep reading...Consumer debt comes in two types: revolving and non-revolving. Revolving debt includes debt that is paid off each month, such as credit card debt. Non-revolving includes financing for things like education, cars, boats, mobile homes (but excluding real estate), and things like vacations - “big ticket” items which one may expect to pay for over a term of several years.
Keep reading...Picture this – a customer strolls through a retail outlet, uses their mobile phone to scan prices at the store and compares prices with those offered by online merchants. The shopper gets information about the product, whether it is available at another location or online, and checks out the prices. No need to drive across town, or wait till they are home to check prices on the Internet. The shopper has the power right in his palm to make the buying decision on the spot.
Keep reading...Gas is something everyone has to buy, and there’s usually not much difference between the gas at one station over another, price is the prime competing factor between retailers. Although there are some drawbacks to paying for gasoline with a credit card, there are enough perks and rewards to make purchasing with a credit card worthwhile. Store cards are usually the easiest to get. Co-branded cards that partner with American Express, Visa, or MasterCard often have the lowest interest rates and offer the best rewards. These cards can only be used to purchase one brand of fuel, whereas some credit cards offered by the major card issuers can be used at any gas station.
Keep reading...Interchange fees, also known as “swipe” fees, are the costs of handling a credit or debit card transaction. Merchant fee rates reimburse banks for the expense of exchanging payments with the retailer’s bank. Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover all publish listings of their default interchange fees on their websites, but the information is difficult to understand and varies by industry, type of card, transaction volume, card acceptance, and other criteria.
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