Credit

Consumers’ outstanding credit card debt rose incrementally during the third quarter, while the proportion of consumers falling behind on their monthly card-account payments rose for the first time in nearly two years, according to a report TransUnion LLC released Nov. 15.

Rampant data breaches have taught consumers that it is not always wise to store payment data with a third party, but soon such behavior may become the safer way to transact.

Some credit card issuers may be tempted to loosen underwriting standards this holiday season as credit card loss rates hover at record low levels. But such policy shifts could have more far-reaching implications on issuers’ bottom lines than just a few years ago, one analyst warns.

VeriFone Systems Inc. took another step Nov. 14 in its quest to break free of the constraints of the aging plastic card.

More consumers are accessing their credit card accounts online, but only a small percentage are using mobile applications to do so, new research suggests.

The U.S. is increasingly moving toward the EMV chip card standard as a panacea for credit card fraud, but it actually may be a Pandora's box.

Who is Ben Grant?

A New Delhi-based consumer commission on Nov. 9 ruled in favor of a local garment merchant in its dispute with Mumbai-based ICICI Bank Ltd. over two credit card transactions the merchant said the bank failed to process properly.

Valve Corp., the company that provides the popular PC game platform Steam, disclosed Nov. 9 that it suffered a data breach this month.

Payments processor Vantiv known until July as Fifth Third Processing Solutions, on Nov. 10 filed to raise funds with an initial public offering that could be one of the biggest IPOs of the year.

In 2009 through last year, credit cards had been first on consumers’ list when deciding which bills to pay first, over mortgage and other debts. This year, however, their priority has shifted to paying mortgages and utilities first, new study data show.

The average consumer credit card charge-off rate among the top U.S. card issuers is nearing a historic low but should begin creeping upward next year, new data Fitch Ratings Inc. released Nov. 9 suggest.

Fleet card provider FleetCor Technologies Inc.’s third-quarter results benefitted from its mergers-and-acquisitions strategy and its new universal card product, one analyst says.

HSBC Holdings PLC sought to assure the markets Nov. 9 that modest troubles collecting from borrowers last quarter have not disrupted the pending sale of its U.S. credit cards to Capital One Financial Corp.

Near the end of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s one-day payments symposium Sept. 26, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Jamie Henry posed a question that had yet to be answered during the previous eight hours.

American Express Co. and vente-privee.com have launched a joint venture website featuring member-only sales of luxury goods from European and American designers, the companies announced Nov. 9.

Philadelphia Federal Credit Union has signed with U.S. Bancorp’s Elan Financial Services for credit union-branded Visa credit cards with reward options for consumers and businesses, the financial institution announced Nov. 9.

Fleet card provider Fleetcor Technologies Inc. on Nov. 9 reported third quarter net revenues of $134.2 million, up 20.1% from $111.7 million during the same period ended Sept. 30 last year. Net income was up 21.3%, to $40.5 million from $33.4 million.

A group of U.S. senators on Nov. 9 introduced legislation that would allow states to cap credit card interest rates, which they say are riding at “extortion” rates for some consumers.

Total consumer credit card borrowing dipped slightly in September while lenders’ credit card underwriting criteria remained in a holding pattern, according to new data the Federal Reserve Board released Nov. 7.