By now you’re probably used to going to your bank’s website and being upsold on everything from car loans to mortgages to retirement accounts before you can move on to see how your money is doing. But have you ever gone to your bank’s site only to be told you must update your income with the bank before going any further? [More]
credit cards
Pizza Hut Alerts Customers Of Possible Theft Of Credit Card & Other Info
By 10.16.17
Tens of thousands of Pizza Hut customers received something unexpected this weekend. No, not a pizza, but notice that their credit card information may have been impacted during a security breach at the pizza company… two weeks ago. [More]
Man Admits He Helped Steal 94,000 Credit, Debit Card Numbers From Michaels Stores
By 6.20.17
If you can stretch your memory all the way back to the spring of 2011, before data breaches seemed commonplace, perhaps you will recall when Michaels warned customers that PIN pad information at some of its stores might have been exposed. Now, a California man has admitted his role in a conspiracy to swipe 94,000 credit and debit card numbers from customers at around 80 Michaels stores. [More]
Surprise Charges: Feds Advise Retailers To Make “No Interest” Store Credit Offers More Transparent
By 6.8.17
Three years ago, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned consumers that some credit card companies weren’t clearly disclosing the risks of promotions, including deferred-interest offers that promise not to charge interest on purchases as long as the balance is paid off by a certain date. However, if that doesn’t happen customers can find their bill nearly doubled thanks to retroactive interest charges. Now the agency is setting its sights on retailers, urging them consider more transparent promotions for store-branded credit cards. [More]
Kmart Victim Of Second Hack Attack In Three Years
By 6.1.17
Even with fewer stores and sales floors full of boxes, Kmart is still an attractive target for ne’er-do-wells: The retailer has found itself on the receiving end of another hack attack, just three years after its last security breach. [More]
MasterCard Testing Chip-And-Fingerprint Payment Verification System
By 4.20.17
While many consumers are likely just getting used to their more secure, but far from perfect, chip-and-signature payment system and others are beginning to use a chip-and-PIN system, MasterCard is testing yet another secure transaction option: chip-and-fingerprint. [More]
Breach At Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental May Include More Than 1,000 Hotels, Not 12
By 4.19.17
InterContinental Hotels Group, which operates chains like Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, recently admitted that the payment systems in some of its restaurants and bars had been compromised, and released a list of 12 affected locations. It turns out that the list was short by well over 1,000. [More]
Loyalty Programs Make More Money For Airlines Than Ticket Sales
By 3.31.17
You might think think of frequent flier miles as a giveaway for airlines; carriers rewarding loyal customers with free or discounted travel. However, these programs are now a bigger money-maker than airfare for U.S. airlines. [More]
Supreme Court: State’s Restriction On Credit Card Surcharges Is A Free Speech Regulation
By 3.29.17
The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that a New York state law barring merchants from adding credit card surcharges is indeed a state regulation on businesses’ free expression. However, whether that law goes so far as to violate the First Amendment is a matter still to be decided. [More]
Complaints About Student Loan Servicing Increased 429% In Past Year
By 3.28.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
In the past year, federal regulators and consumer advocates have highlighted issues with student loans and the servicing of these often crippling debts: from finding that educational loans continue to haunt older borrowers, to suing Navient, the largest student loan servicing company. Because of this, it might not come as much of a surprise that the number of complaints the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received related to student loans has skyrocketed. [More]
Square Payment Systems Restored After Two-Hour Outage
By 3.16.17
Some small business owners around the country were doing very little business for a few hours this afternoon, thanks to a widespread network outage for mobile payment system Square. [More]
Why Is Credit-Card Fraud Still Rising In The New Chip Era?
By 2.1.17
For years, American consumers have waited for safer credit cards with embedded chips that make them more difficult to clone, and which can require a unique PIN or a signature to use. Now that these cards are finally in widespread use, and retailers are begrudgingly shifting over to new card-readers, why is identity fraud still on the rise? [More]
Is A Restriction On Credit Card Surcharges A Free Speech Violation?
By 1.10.17
When you think of First Amendment disputes, your mind probably conjures images of protestors, or investigative journalism, or maybe you think of the never-ending debate over where to draw the line between obscenity and protected forms of expression. You probably don’t immediately connect the dots between the First Amendment and a state law about credit card surcharges — but the U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to decide that very issue. [More]
Retailers Ask Congress To Please Not Roll Back Dodd-Frank Debit Card Reforms
By 1.4.17
Both the banking industry and conservative lawmakers are hoping that the incoming Trump administration will agree to repeal the 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reforms, but many in the retail world are calling on Congress to retain at least the portion of the law involving debit card transactions. [More]
Seeking Sweetgreen Salad? Don’t Bother Bringing Cash.
By 12.22.16
If you’re looking for a swanky, sustainably-sourced salad for lunch… don’t bother bringing your wallet. Sweetgreen doesn’t want your money, at least not the paper kind; it prefers you pay digitally. Period. [More]
Costco Credit Card Switch Came With Unexpected Side Effect: Lost Insurance
By 11.10.16
When Costco announced it was ditching its exclusive co-branded American Express card in favor of a Citibank-issued Visa card, customers worried about the various ways this switch could affect their finances and credit, but one family says the change in card networks resulted in them losing an insurance policy. [More]
Who Am I Supposed To Call When My Credit Card Info Is Stolen?
By 10.11.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
You just found out your credit or debit card info has been used by someone else to make a fraudulent purchase. There are so many different people you can call, each involved in some aspect of this theft. There’s your bank that issued the card, the credit card network the issuer uses for that card, the retailer or website that processed the payment, the police, the FBI… Do you need to call all of these or just one or two? What if you think your incident might be a sign of a larger breach? [More]
Court: American Express Can Stop Stores From Steering Customers To Less-Expensive Cards
By 9.26.16
When you pay with a credit card, you’d probably like to know if you could save money by using one type of card over another. However, stores that accept American Express are barred from steering customers toward less-expensive cards. Last year, a federal court ruled that AmEx’s policy violates antitrust laws, but today a federal appeals court overruled that decision. [More]
