After just 3 weeks, the Kardashian Kard is canceled. Lawyers for the K sisters sent a termination letter to the bank that had licensed their likenesses and slapped them on its hidden fee-laden debit card targeted at children. Seems they don’t want to be associated with a card that was almost immediately after it launched the source of an AG investigation. See the full letter, after the jump. [More]
debit cards
An Animated Takedown Of The Kardashian Kard
By 11.29.10
Those wascally NMA folk took a swing at the Kardashian Kard with a new comedic animated video. They waste no time skewering the fee-laden prepaid debit card marketed towards children. My favorite part is when Kim runs away laughing as her tween fans paw ineffectually towards her, their feet shackled to balls and chains of debt. [More]
Keeping Up With The Kardashian Kard's Hidden Fees
By 11.17.10
Keeping up with the Kardashians comes at a cost. The reality show star is pimping a new prepaid debit card targeted at kids that is as bursting with hidden fees as Kim’s shirt, featured prominently on the plastic, is bursting with integrity. Yeah, I think using sex to sell hidden fees to kids is pretty messed up. Just take a look at all these fees: [More]
Is Bank Of America's $0 Liability Guarantee Any Different Than What You Already Have?
By 11.5.10
If you’ve lost your remote and been unable to fast-forward through your DVRd shows — or heaven forbid you’ve had to watch something on live TV — in the last two months, you might have seen one of Bank of America’s commercials touting its “$0 Liability Guarantee” for all its credit and debit cards. But is all this just window decoration on guarantees you already have? [More]
Chase Approves Transaction Anyway After Customer Declines Overdraft Protection
By 9.27.10
Paul opted not to sign up for Chase’s overdraft fee trap–oh wait, they call it “protection”–but Chase happily ignored this fact and approved a transaction anyway, which led to a $34 overdraft fee that they refuse to reverse. The loophole they’re using to get around Paul’s opt-out is that the vendor was someone he’d authorized in the past, and therefore this new transaction isn’t protected from the bank’s “protection” fee. [More]
Do Pay-By-Smartphone Systems Put Consumers At Risk?
By 8.25.10
As smartphones like the iPhone or Droid become more popular and more sophisticated, developers are finding new ways for consumers to use these mobile devices to replace existing items like airplane boarding passes, coupons and now credit cards. Soon, smartphone owners will be able to pay for purchases with a wave of their phones, but they should first be aware of the possible risks involved. [More]
Five Things To Do Before Losing Your Wallet
By 7.24.10
Look, it’s going to happen eventually. Whether it’s pickpockets or carelessness, you’re going to lose your wallet. When you do, you’ll be glad you took these five steps to make recovery simple and painless. [More]
Chase Now Has Human ATM Greeter Who Helpfully Sells Overdraft Protection
By 7.14.10
As the August 15th deadline for bank customers to opt in to overdraft protection on their existing accounts looms, banks are trying some innovative new tactics. Nicole tells Consumerist that she visited an ATM Chase branch on a Saturday morning to withdraw some cash, and encountered an employee stationed near the ATMs, asking customers whether they had “made a decision” about their “debit card overdraft coverage.” [More]
HSBC Helping Out Mail Thieves By Sending Out Pre-Activated Debit Cards
By 7.6.10
Legitimate businessmen aren’t the only ones who need stimulus packages to get their games rolling again. Dudes who dig through peoples’ mail and steal debit cards can also use a little loving. HSBC understands this fact and is helping out by sending out pre-activated debit cards, Knowzy reports. [More]
Hackers Love Stealing Your Credit Card From Hotels
By 7.6.10
Make sure you check your credit card for suspicious charges after you use it at a hotel. A new study finds that 38% of credit card hacking cases involved hotels, way ahead of any other industry. [More]
TD Bank Pushes Totally Flat Debit Cards
By 7.6.10
Run your fingers over one of TD Bank’s new debit cards and you’ll notice something missing. There’s no embossed numbers. It’s not a fake, it’s the future: a completely flat debit card that can be issued right on the spot when you open an account at a local bank, with no waiting for it to arrive in the mail. [More]
Reader Nearly Gets Jacked By Fake ATM
By 6.29.10
Reader Paul was trying to enjoy fried pop tarts at an outdoor city festival in his hometown when his debit card was nearly stolen by a fake ATM. Someone had modified an arcade cabinet and placed it outside a bank where it had captured the overflow traffic spilling out of the bank lobby. [More]
Fake ATMs Drain Your Account Dry
By 6.24.10
We’ve talked about spotting skimmers placed on ATMs before, but what if the whole ATM is a skimmer? [More]
Why Don't I Get The Cash Discount For Gas When I Pay With My Debit Card?
By 6.10.10
David writes that he recently had a confusing experience at a gas station, and he wanted some clarification. He’s used to receiving a cash discount when he pays with his debit card at gas stations, but came across a gas station owner who wouldn’t give a cash discount for anything but actual greenbacks. Are this gas station’s policies illegal, David wonders? [More]
Keep PayPal From Using The Default ATM Debit Setting
By 5.25.10
PayPal exists to make money, not to help you. That’s why the unregulated money broker likes to ensure that when you pay with a linked account, you pay via the ATM debit card setting, because it’s cheaper for PayPal. Of course, that “savings” is sometimes deducted from you in the form of a transaction fee by your bank, but PayPal doesn’t care. If you want to change that payment method the next time you use PayPal, be prepared to jump through a lot of hoops. [More]
Senate Bill To Curb Credit Card Swipe Fees Passes
By 5.14.10
The bill to curb credit card fees that was being floated last night ended up passing. Credit card industry stocks fell Friday on the news. [More]
Senate May Break "Price Fixing" On Credit Card Swipe Fees
By 5.13.10
As the Senate debates the financial reform bill, one amendment may be good news for small businesses — though it could offer a mixed bag to consumers. The amendment, floated by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) would give small businesses more flexibility when it comes to working with companies like Visa and Mastercard that process credit card transactions. And it would give the government the ability to force processors to cut the rates they charge to manage debit card transactions to fees that are “reasonable and proportional to the actual cost incurred.” [More]
PayPal, Debit, Credit… Which One Is The Safest Online?
By 3.22.10
The NYT breaks down the different security risks by payment type. The takeaway? No method is perfect, but credit cards have the strongest legal protections for consumers. [More]
