Entries by Debtmerica

New prepaid card can help parents teach kids about finances

The BillMyParents prepaid debit card will allow parents to give their teenager a card that will help them learn the ropes of dealing with fiscal responsibility, according to a report from SanDiego.com. In addition, because this type of account has a preset spending limit parents can load as much as they want onto their child's […]

Economic downturn forces young consumers to rethink debt strategies

A number of recent polls have found that younger consumers say they will be more conscientious about improving their finances in the coming year than their older counterparts, according to U.S. World and News report. For instance, a recent Fidelity Investments poll found that about half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 […]

Joblessness leads to more delinquent credit card debt

The rate at which consumers were unable to put money toward their outstanding credit card debt increased slightly in the third quarter of 2010, according to the latest statistics from the American Bankers Association. Delinquent accounts – those 30 days or more behind – increased to 3.64 percent nationwide, up from 3.62 percent at the […]

Credit card debt tumbles once again in November

The nationwide amount of revolving credit – which is made up almost entirely of consumers' credit card debt – slipped once again in November, according to the latest monthly statistics from the Federal Reserve Board. Consumers successfully reduced the amount they owe on these accounts by 6.3 percent. This accounted for a decline of $4.2 […]

New Citi card allows consumers to choose between payment options

The lender will soon launch a test program that will give some cardholders the ability to choose between taking on credit card debt to make a purchase, or redeeming their rewards points, according to a report from Time Magazine. Citi's announcement that it will soon launch its Thank You Prestige 2G card, which will allow […]

Credit networks could lose billions on proposed swipe fee rule

A proposed rule from the Federal Reserve Board would alter current transaction fee rules so that networks could only charge a percentage of the purchase price, usually between 1 and 5 percent, when consumers take on credit card debt to make a purchase, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Meanwhile, debit transactions would cost […]

New accounts will waive fees for those who take on credit card debt

Like many major financial institutions, Bank of America is now testing accounts available only to new customers in select parts of the country, with an eye toward rolling them out nationwide, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. These will have higher monthly fees than existing accounts, but many can also be waived if […]

Consumers say they should have faced credit card debt

In retrospect, 60 percent of Americans say they leaned too heavily on their credit cards prior to the recession, and should have made a greater effort to pay down their credit card debt, according to a new survey from TD Ameritrade Holdings. Another 50 percent said they should have used cash more often to make […]

Many subprime borrowers affected by CARD Act

While the Credit CARD Act provided a number of protections for average consumers from predatory lending tactics, it also forced many financial institutions to stop granting lines of credit to those who had subprime credit scores or incomes, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. As a result, they were forced to seek […]