Analytics

A shakeout among debt-relief firms is likely as such companies restructure their operations to conform with new Federal Trade Commission rules that take effect this month, experts say.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, outlined an agenda Thursday for the newly authorized Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Average credit scores for U.S. consumers fell two points during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, and the decline was much sharper in certain regions in the South, according to data released by Credit Karma this week.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Oct. 13 reported third quarter increases in both net income and sales volume for its Card Services unit, aided by continued reductions in charge-offs and delinquencies and by a rise in consumer card use.

U.S. consumers’ average credit scores fell two points during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, while the decline was sharper in certain regions in the South, according to new data Credit Karma released Oct. 13.

Bank card delinquencies fell 26 basis points to 3.62% of all accounts, the lowest mark since the first quarter of 2001 and far below the 15-year average of 3.93%, according to a report released last week by the American Bankers Association.

Merchants accepting payments via mobile phones experienced the highest card-not-present fraud volume in 2009, facing on average 3,385 attempts to commit fraudulent transactions each month, new research shows, suggesting the need for higher security as more merchants accept mobile payments.

Consumers in the United States generally believe their credit card companies treat them fairly but anticipate some changes under the Credit CARD Act affecting their overall card usage, new research from New York-based management-consulting firm Auriemma Consulting Group suggests. Auriemma conducted the research through an online survey in August.

A settlement involving the top two payments networks over their merchant acceptance policies gives retailers more clout to promote the use of cheaper cards, but an analyst doubts many businesses will change their practices.

Consumer confidence fell in September as pessimism about the economy increased, The Conference Board Inc., a New York-based research organization, reported Sept. 28.

The Members Group, which does business as TMG, a financial-services provider to credit unions and community banks, is offering a means to combat ATM card-skimming attacks with a suite of services from ADT Security Services Inc.

No one knew exactly how much revenue banks stood to lose from the new overdraft regulations. But nearly everyone assumed it was a big number.

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing checks to 14,023 consumers who were victims of ChoicePoint’s alleged failure to have a comprehensive information security program to protect consumers’ personal information, as required by a previous court order.

Small-business owners’ confidence rose slightly in September, halting a three-month decline as more business owners’ cash flow improved, according to new survey data Discover Financial Services released Monday.

U.S. law-enforcement officials are investigating a security breach involving “a limited number” of PIN-debit terminals deployed at Aldi grocery stores, a spokesperson for the Batavia, Ill.-based company tells PaymentsSource. Aldi stores accept only PIN-debit transactions and cash for payment at the point of sale.

MasterCard Worldwide expects to increase its U.S. debit market share as a result of new network-routing rules included in pending federal changes in debit card interchange policies, Chris McWilton, MasterCard’s U.S. Markets president, said Sept. 23 at the company’s symposium for media and analysts at its headquarters in Purchase, N.Y.

The total dollar amount of outstanding subprime loans was $714 billion at June 30, a 45% decline from the peak in 2007, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

High-end spenders who tightened their belts in 2009 are starting to loosen them up, as such consumers likely are behind an overall increase in credit card spending last month, suggests First Data Corp.’s August SpendTrend payment card transaction analysis of all store sales activity that First Data processes.

MasterCard Inc. shares have surged this week after it announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan and said it expects profit to rise faster than some analysts have predicted, reports Bloomberg News.

More than three-fourths of bank customers did not pay any debit card overdraft fees over a recent 12-month period, suggest survey data the American Bankers Association released Sept. 15.