Merchant

It is a bold claim: Banks could potentially originate 300,000 more home loans per quarter without taking on too much more risk.

Outstanding household debt rose by $78 billion in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, to $11.71 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly Household Debt and Credit Report.

New York families victimized by scams such as false promises of loan modifications lose an average of $4,187 per household, 27% higher than the national average of $3,296.

Consumer confidence fell in November, interrupting a steady rise in sentiment, but Americans still indicated plans to spend more, according to the Conference Board. The conflict clouds the trickle down expectations for the collection business.

Account Control Technology Inc. has donated to Susan G. Komen, a nonprofit organization that works to end breast cancer in the U.S. and throughout the world by supporting research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 30 countries.

Complaints against debt collection companies logged with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rose in October, as did lawsuits citing alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Unless you’ve been completely sequestered away from technology news as well as mainstream news, you probably have heard of the new Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus as well as Apple’s new point of sale ecosystem called Apple Pay.

The latest TransUnion Industry Insights Report found that total outstanding credit card balances increased by 4.3% in Q3 2014 from Q3 2013. It signals the second consecutive quarter of significant annual growth and it constitutes the highest growth rate observed since Q4 2008.

Square CEO Jack Dorsey told CNN that his company wants to help businesses accept all payment forms, including Apple Pay.

Total System Services will offer merchants link2pay's single-point login for payment acceptance.