Credit Card Offers

It is an alarming fact that credit card thieves account for 5 cents of every 100 dollars in transactions made through credit cards?  Security features have come a long way since the inception of credit cards.  At the very beginning, there wasn’t any protection for people with credit cards.  If a thief got a hold of a card, that was all that was needed to commit fraud.  Nowadays, however, thieves have less ability to make fraudulent transactions on a card, especially ones which harm the card holder.

These days, credit card companies have adopted a “zero-liability” policy.  This means that the customer isn’t liable for any of the purchases that a thief makes.  If the borrower didn’t authorize the purchase they are not held accountable.  An investigation, which involves the credit card company and the police will ensue, allowing them to find the thieves and leave the consumer without any charges to pay.  No matter what the thief does with a card, the customer is not liable.

Sometimes, thieves will try to gain access to credit card details through the borrower’s email inbox.  This is called phishing, and is usually carried out by sending an email requesting the credit card number.  Customers should be aware that neither Paypal nor credit card companies will ever ask for personal information.

Some websites on the Internet today are fraudulent, being created to make borrowers believe that they are making a purchase which will get a product delivered to their home.  In reality, they can make exorbitant charges to the card and leave the customer with very little in their account at the end of the transaction. Consumer should be awa

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Japanese commerce is struggling to maintain its reputation for excellence. First, Toyota had to recall some of its models. Now, Sony has apologized for potentially exposing the details of 10 million credit cards to hackers who gained access to its PlayStation Network systems, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Whether or not your details were held on the PlayStation Network database, you may well be feeling less secure about credit card use in general. But dont panic.

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For the novice or aspiring cardholder, credit card applications and offers can be quite confusing, considering all of the seemingly esoteric terminology used by financial institutions. Without the proper understanding of the terminology, cardholders can be persuaded into applying for credit cards that charge unfair fees and interest rates. Before applying for a card, applicants should understand the following important credit card terminology:

Balance

Since credit cards are actually ongoing loans, the term “balance” can be somewhat confusing, as the money within the credit card account does not technically belong to the cardholder. The

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Yesterday, this blog dug deep into a new research report from comScore Inc. to reveal how consumers value different product features when theyre shopping for new plastic. Today, well use the same document to explore continuing changes in credit card use.

Credit card use evolving

In 1990, U.S. credit card transactions had a total value of about $800 million, according to Nilson Report figures quoted in a Columbia Law School study. The same source says that that figure had risen to approximately $1.7 trillion by 2006.

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As credit card companies compete heavily to solicit new customers by offering lower interest rates they have to find creative ways to recuperate some of the profits that they lose due to these lower interest charges. There are a plethora of different types of credit card fees that cardholders are subject to.

The following paragraphs outline five of the more common credit card fees which are likely to be encountered.

Late Payment Fees

Late payment penalties account for millions of dollars in charges, and no credit card is immune to them. These fees usually range from $15-$40 per billing cycle and are incurred every time a payment is missed or less than the minimum amount due is paid.

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On Tuesday, UPI reported on research carried out by Oregon State University (OSU). Its article appeared under the headline, credit card debt called the American way. Just how fair is that?

Very fair, according to Michelle Barnhart, one of the OSU researchers who conducted the study. She told UPI that various factors have created a culture of debt in America. And she went on: Its easy to sit back and blame consumers for just spending too much, but the truth is we have an entire infrastructure set up to support, maintain and encourage credit card use and debt.

Credit card debt down

But hang on a minute.

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