Prepaid Debit Cards

BBVA Compass Introduces Prepaid Debit Card

The prepaid card market continues to grow as more U.S. banks such as BBVA Compass launches prepaid debit cards as alternatives to checking accounts. BBVA Compass Bank (NYSE: BBVA) now offers the BBVA Compass SafeSpend Card, a reloadable prepaid Visa debit card. For a $4 monthly service fee, the SafeSpend Card carries features such as direct deposit, online banking, bill payments, email/text message alerts, unlimited PIN and signature purchases, and funds are insured by the FDIC. Read full story

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Low-income prepaid-card users facing higher fees

WASHINGTON — Millions of poor Americans who use prepaid debit cards could soon face higher fees.

Under a rule to take effect in July, companies that issue debit cards must reduce the fees they charge retailers. To recoup their lost revenue, banks that offer the cards are raising fees for people who use them. 

People who use prepaid debit cards, typically low-income consumers and those collecting government benefits, are supposed to be shielded from the fee hikes. To protect them, the rule provided an exemption: It let companies that issue prepaid cards keep charging retailers higher rates.

 

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Fort Bend Sheriff’s Deputies Arrest Five In Major Credit Card Fraud Ring

Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office detectives have arrested five members of a group that has used a large number of credit cards and credit card numbers either stolen or purchased on the Internet to commit fraud.

In late April, the Organized Crime Squad received a tip that the Cuban group – most members blood related – had obtained the numbers through dump sites – most likely from out of the country – on the Internet.

Once the numbers were secured, new credit cards were produced.

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Fed: Banks must release credit score when denying credit card application Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/07/11/fed-banks-must-release-credit-score-when-denying-credit-card-application/#ixzz1RzVUiYS2

Credit card applicants can see their credit scores for free if a bank used that score to decline service, according to the Federal Reserve. The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve Board jointly announced their rules for implementing free credit score notifications under the the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act already enabled consumers to request free copies of their credit reports when declined for new credit. However, the free credit reports required under the FCRA didn't include a credit score or a description of the scoring method used to determine an applicant's creditworthiness.

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Higher credit scores may boost consumer spending

The average U.S. credit score rose to 696 in May, the highest in at least four years, according to Equifax Inc., a provider of consumer-credit data. The ratio of consumer-debt payments to incomes is the lowest since 1994, and delinquencies have dropped 30 percent in two years, Federal Reserve data show.

Improving credit quality gives households the ability to lift borrowing as concerns ease about rising fuel prices and unemployment. A reacceleration in spending would belie Morgan Stanley economist Stephen Roach's assertion that consumers will be "zombies" for years because of too much debt.

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Better Options if You Have 'One of the Worst Credit Cards' on the Market

It’s not fun being negative, but sometimes acknowledging the worst helps us better recognize the best. This is certainly true and extremely helpful when it comes to credit cards.

While it’s now much easier than ever to identify the worst credit cards on the market, and the gap between the best and worst has diminished thanks to the new credit card law (the CARD Act), the negative financial ramifications of making a poor credit card choice are still significant.

So too, however, is the positive opportunity that comes with realizing such a mistake: here's what Card Hub has determined as some of the worst credit cards out there and how you can replace them in your wallet.

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The AmEx Prepaid Debit Card's Dirty Little Secret

We wrote last week about American Express’ new prepaid debit card, which is being billed as a low-fee, easy-to-understand alternative to the cluttered (and frankly shady) prepaid debit market. We agreed, to an extent: most prepaid cards charge for everything under the sun, including withdrawals, purchases, and balance inquiries. We even compared it favorably to some checking accounts. But then we found a dealbreaker in the terms.

Outside of ATM fees, the American Express card has only one fee to worry about, and that fee renders the card essentially irrelevant: the cost of reloading with cash. If you want to reload through an AmEx credit card or through a checking account, there’s no charge. Otherwise, though, you need to buy a MoneyPak from Green Dot, which costs $4.95.

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Bankruptcy and Credit Card Debt

If your credit-card debt levels is staggering, bankruptcy can be an answer that might not hurt your future ability to get credit as much as you think.

June 15, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As the economy continues to recover, many Americans are still mired in debt. To get themselves through the recent recession, people often relied on credit cards and home equity lines of credit to keep household bills current.

Money-Zine.com interprets U.S. census figures to say that Americans carried approximately $886 billion in credit-card debt in 2006, which was expected to grow to $1,177 billion by the end of 2010. By these numbers, each U.S. credit-card holder held at least $5,100 in debt in 2006.

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Will Banks Target the Unbanked Next?

During the recession, the number of people categorized as unbanked — without a checking or savings account — or underbanked — without access to credit — increased. In a new study, consulting firm KPMG suggests that banks can make money from this group, not by bringing them back into the financial mainstream, but by offering them “alternative” products like prepaid debit cards and money orders.

Banks aren’t the only ones seeing a potential market in the unbanked. Some big-box retailers have begun offering bank-like services, letting customers cash a check or pay a utility bill.

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Obama’s top 4 tips to win financial security

Much of the talk, as might be expected, focused on the debt ceiling, the housing crisis and the job market. But during the give-and-take with top White House officials on these issues, there were some nuggets of wisdom that clearly applied to everyday investors and regular folks planning their retirement.

Here are those four tips, from the president’s own lips and from his chief economic adviser:

1. Don’t spend all your money Doug Harbrecht of Kiplinger asked the president for his best personal-finance tip for regular Americans. Obama’s simple response: “Don’t spend all your money.”

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