Earlier this year, PayPal reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit, agreeing to provide some users with payments ranging from $3 to $440 to resolve allegations the company improperly handled disputed transactions and placed inappropriate holds or reserves on some sellers’ funds. Now, the settlement has a firm claim filing deadline, Oct. 14. [More]
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Uber Now Allows You To Add 10 People To One Account With “Family Profiles”
By 3.16.16
Acknowledging that some Uber customers are using their account to hail rides for people other than themselves, the ride-sharing service has announced a “Family Profile” option that lets multiple Uber passengers bill to the same credit card. [More]
Amazon Files Patent For Pay-By-Selfie System
By 3.14.16
MasterCard may have rolled out its new “selfie” verification system last month, but it’s not the only company to take consumers’ love of self portraits and turn it into a way to make money. To that end, Amazon recently filed a patent for a so-called selfie pay system. [More]
Amazon Will Reportedly Pay Self-Published E-Book Authors $.006 Per Page Read
By 7.2.15
Last month, Amazon revealed it planned to begin a new payment system that entailed paying some authors per page read instead of per book purchased. Today, we know a little more about those impending payments, including the dollar value that Amazon intends to associate with each turn of the page. [More]
Could You Soon Be Making Purchases By Scanning Your Face? That’s The Plan At MasterCard
By 7.2.15
Who has time to memorize the special code or password when you could just scan your face to approve an online purchase? While using facial recognition as confirmation you’re, well, you, might seem a little far-fetched, it could be a reality this fall according to MasterCard. [More]
Amazon To Start Paying Some Authors Per Page Read
By 6.22.15
Less than a week after Amazon announced it had reached a deal with the world’s largest book publisher over sales, the company announced it would begin a new payment system for some authors: paying by the page read rather than the book purchased. [More]
PayPal Must Pay $7.7M For Processing Transactions In Violation Of U.S. Sanctions
By 3.27.15
Each year, PayPal processes billions of dollars in transactions. Apparently some of those payments didn’t exactly sit well with the U.S. government and now the company must pay $7.7 million for violating certain sanctions. [More]
No, You Should Not Pay Your $206 Speeding Ticket With Urine-Soaked Coins
By 3.29.09
47-year-old Washington resident Michael Lynch tried and failed to pay a $206 speeding ticket with a plastic bag filled with coins and urine. Surprisingly, his special payment for doing 54 mph in a 35 mph construction zone didn’t violate any laws…
Corporate Infighting To Keep Americans From Paying With Their Cellphones For The Next Few Years
By 1.25.09
Don’t expect your cellphone to replace your credit card anytime soon. The New York Times reports that banks and telecoms still can’t agree on the basics needed to develop such a payment system, even though similar systems have been available in Japan for the past five years.
HCA: It's Hospital Policy To Shakedown Patients Before They Leave
By 5.25.08
Among the many hospital personnel who stopped in to see my father after surgery was a “financial counselor” from the billing office, who basically started stalking him from the minute he left the intensive care unit.
Certegy Decides Whether Or Not Kmart Will Accept Your Check
By 4.23.08
S. wrote a check at Kmart earlier this month and it was denied. No reason was given—just “denied.”
Sallie Mae Stops Student Loan Consolidation, Will No Longer Pay Origination Fees On Stafford Loans
By 4.15.08
Consolidation loans are no longer profitable for Sallie Mae, so it’s saying goodbye to them. SmartMoney points out that ultimately this shouldn’t matter for students taking out new loans, since the original point of consolidation—converting lots of variable rate loans into a nice predictable fixed rate loan—is no longer relevant (all federal student loans are now disbursed with fixed interest rates.) SmartMoney says if you still have variable rate loans you need/want to consolidate, check out the government’s consolidation offering—”You’re likely to pay the same consolidation rates you’d pay if you did so with Sallie Mae,” they write.
Tax Cat: Help! I Owe The IRS Money And I Don't Have Any!
By 4.9.08
The IRS knows you owe them money and they realize that you may not actually have any to give them. Don’t worry, they’re not going to come in the night and steal all your Nerf footballs and catnip.
This Bath & Body Works Doesn't Accept Cash
By 4.3.08
A.A. sent us these photos, and writes,
That’s the sign I saw at the Bath & Body Works store in a Tanger Outlet Mall in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I didn’t go inside to find out if my legal tender was no good there or what, but I’m a fan of the site and thought y’all would get a kick out of the pics.
The U.S. Treasury says that’s fine, stores don’t have to accept cash. We’re just worried the people in Pigeon Forge know something about the U.S. dollar that we don’t.
Check Out The IRS's Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator
By 3.18.08
The IRS has more information about the upcoming economic stimulus payments. Woohoo!
CompUSA Refuses To Accept Cash
By 1.20.08
A CompUSA cashier summoned her manager and a security guard when Bud tried to pay for his purchases with cash. The promise of 40% discounts drew Bud to the Boisie, Idaho store, but he settled for a 10% discount on an iMac and several accessories.
I start counting out hundred dollar bills and the clerk goes nuts! “Sir, we don’t accept cash for this kind of purchase! You must use a credit card!” she says at the top of her lungs. (I see her also hit a button on the phone at the same time.)
Yes, New York City Cabs Take Credit Cards
By 12.15.07
New York taxi drivers have resigned themselves to a fate with credit cards, according to a New York Times investigation. Cabbies struck twice this year to protest regulations forcing them to accept credit of all stripes. To see if cabbies are following the new rules, the Times asked five reporters to hop in twenty cabs each with one question: “I’ve only got a credit card, is that O.K.?”
Shophacks: How to Force ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ at Many Stores
By 1.24.06
This scheme is a bit duplicitous, of course, but we feel no compunction passing on ways to game the same system that so often screws us over. Use these tricks at your own risk.
