Credit Card Offers

That is the main conclusion of a study by Joanna Stavins, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In her paper Stavins analyzes the potential effects of the Feds rule that limited debit card interchange fees to about $0.24 per transaction, down from an average of $0.44. These are the fees merchants are charged by issuers for processing debit card transactions.

We have long been warning on this blog that the Durbin Amendment, which mandated the Fed to place a cap on debit interchange fees, will end up hurting consumers and especially the lower-income ones, who a previous Fed study told us tend to use debit cards much more often than they use credit cards.

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The case against rewards credit cards by Peter Andrew

Earlier this week, The Washington Post published a blog post by Natalie McNeal. You may have heard of her. Shes made something of a career out of first accumulating and then repaying $20,000 in credit card debt. Shes written a book, and has her own website. Excuse your blogger while he tamps down his envy, and composes himself.

Rewards credit cards bad?

Thats better. Anyway, the overall thrust of McNeals blog was that she was (on balance and with caveats) against rewards credit cards in general and travel rewards cards in particular.

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On 22 September I agreed to a kitchen upgrade worth £3,400 with a company called Lifestyle Home Improvements. The salesman was a very confident talker, and although I said I would pay for the work by cheque, I allowed myself to be talked into accepting the company’s “preferred option”, a home improvement loan through Barclays Partner Finance.

I said I did not want to sign up to anything that would incur interest payments, and was assured by the salesman that if I paid off the whole amount within 28 days and/or before the first payment date was due, I would not have to pay any extra and the loan agreement would be cancelled.

The work to the kitchen has been completed (except for a piece of cornice for the top of one wall unit which the joiner said he would return to fix within the next week or two), so I contacted Barclays Partner Finance to settle the bill.

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The days of unchecked internet transactions have entered their gloaming as the IRS introduces a new tax form, the 1099-K, as a way to track debit, credit and even gift card transactions.

Merchants that conduct transactions exceeding $20,000 or 200 transactions a year will be required to fill out the form for 2011 come April 2012. The move is perceived by many as a means to end untaxed and “underground” transactions, as its passing was largely concealed in The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 which was labeled as “a bill to provide needed housing reform and for other purposes.”

Unfortunately for the unsuspecting public, the new requirements on merchant reporting slipped through without much attention. Merchan

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Reuters) Bank of America Corp, after receiving heavy public criticism for a planned $5 per-month debit card fee, is likely to give customers more ways to avoid the fee, a person familiar with the banks plans said Friday.

The second largest U.S. bank is likely to allow many customers to avoid the fee by taking measures such as maintaining minimum balances, having paychecks direct deposited, or using Bank of America credit cards, the person said.

Under earlier plans, customers might have needed balances totaling $20,000 across all their Bank of America accounts to avoid the fee.

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Borrowers do not need perfect credit to qualify for this type of loan. Lower credit scoring individuals may still qualify. Typically, factors determining eligibility for a California mortgage include such things as credit, assets, income, and equity. Our Flexible payment program allows borrowers flexibility in qualifying requirements too. In fact, qualifying for the program can be done for those without current employment or income through our No Doc option. This makes qualifying a hassle free process. The Interest Only mortgage has become very popular during the latest housing boom as borrowers realize that flexible payments are a desirable way to control monthly cash flow.

Additional benefits of this program include no seasoning requirements for new home purchases.

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