The federal agency charged with resolving consumers’ credit card questions and complaints on Wednesday proposed a two-page credit card agreement meant to simplify terms and make fees and penalties more clear.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants the public to weigh in on the prototype that, if approved, would be optional for issuers. (Instructions on how to comment are at the link above.)
Instead of an average 5,000 words in disclosures, this form averages 1,000 and the information is broken down into costs, changes and additional information. Fees and interest rates are displayed prominently, upfront and in bigger type. A separate set of definitions would be available online or in print form.
The announcement of the agreement follows the CFPB’s release of its interim report outlining its progress after three months in action. One of the conclusions drawn from that report was that consumers are confused by credit card terms and contracts, Raj Date, special adviser to the Treasury Secretary for the CFPB, said in a statement.
More than 5,000 credit card complaints were filed with the CFPB following its launch in July and the agency reported resolving more than 3,100 of those complaints. Con
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Agreement, Card Agreement, Credit Card, Credit Card Agreement
If you plan to buy your loved ones, friends and co-workers iTunes gift certificates this holiday season you might want to avoid e-mail offers for the cards. A group of 11 specialists are warning buyers of fake certificates that offer no monetary value while placing malware on the users computer.
The emails, which read “iTunes Gift Certiicate” provide readers with a 50% off option that will then give them a code that can be used for music downloads. Onc
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Gift, Gift Certificates, Itunes Gift, Itunes Gift Certificates
Affinity debit cards help businesses establish strong brand image while providing consumers with a way to earn rewards. These debit cards link directly to the consumers checking account.
Tempo issues Affinity Debit Cards to partner companies.
- These cards are debit cards, not credit cards. This is not a loan. Purchases made with the card withdraw funds from the users account balance.
- The cards link to the consumers current bank account. It does not establish a new account. The user determines which account he or she would like to link to this account.
- The cards are partner-branded. This means the companys logo and image may appear on the card. The company may allow users to create personalized images on their cards, if they would like to do so.
You may not realize the companys debit card offer is an Affinity card.
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For much of the last couple of years, most of us have paid little attention to the brewing financial problems of Europe, not because they weren’t that significant, but primarily because we have our own problems here at home. Although we are still neck deep in debt, deficit and recession worries, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the incessant headlines of the impending European debt crisis of the Eurozone, and the “contagion” 
of bank failures that some predict will soon reach our shores. Now that it has our attention, more of us are beginning to wonder what effect it might have on our own personal finances. With our credit system still in a fragile state, many consumers are wondering how it could impact such things as our credit card rates.
Nothing good is expected to come out of the European debt crisis and the ultimate collapse of sovereign debt in Greece, or Italy, or Spain, and on and on. In addit
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It appears that if you are a credit card customer Christmas may well have come early for you as major card issuers offer increasingly attractive Christmas savings and promotions to woo consumers.
The recent cap on debit card swipe fees has severely limited what banks can charge on those transactions, so the focus lately is on encouraging consumers to use credit cards instead of debit.
In order to convince existing customers and entice new ones away from rivals, credit card issuers and banks are offering increasingly generous incentives for using credit cards to do the holiday shopping. Many issuers are teaming up with popular retails and travel companies to offer special promotions over the festive period.
Some of the common tactics being employed are to offer increased amounts of cash back rewards and additional air miles when consumers use their credit cards to buy food and gifts. Those consumers who have a good to excellent credit score and who pay their bill in full each month will find that they are especially being targeted with savings and perks.
Discover are just one of the card issuers using these types of deals this Christmas.
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Card Issuers, Savings, Woo Consumers
Most all of us rely on credit at some point in our lives. While you may already know your credit is checked when applying for a loan or credit card, it may have also been checked when you signed up for a new cell phone plan, applied for a new apartment, or opened an account at a credit union.
Since credit affects so much of our adult lives, it’s important to know what factors go into your credit score, including open credit card utilization, percentage of on-time payments, number of derogatory marks, average age of open credit lines, total number of accounts and total hard credit inquiries. (Read more about these six factors here.)
It’s also important to understand what’s not in your credit score, especially since there are many misconceptions. Here’s a quick run-down of the factors that don’t affect your credit:
Isn’t it comforting to know that your creditors can’t discriminate against you due to your race or gender? And that they
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