From Skokie.Patch.com | Skokie police are investigating sophisticated “skimming” schemes that may have led to ATM fraud in the area. According to police reports this week, five women and two men, all Skokie residents, have fallen prey to ATM fraud over the past few days and have lost a combined $9,900 due to the fraudulent withdrawals.
Filed under: Credit Cards
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Perfect 850 credit score an elusive ‘unicorn’?
A major league pitcher dreams of throwing a perfect game. High schoolers eyeing the Ivy League study furiously in hopes of earning 2400 on the SAT. Meanwhile, Chris Peplinski is pursuing his own brand of flawlessness: an 850 credit score.
The 37-year-old stay-at-home dad from Rogers, Ark., has already nabbed 813 on the FICO scale, the credit scoring system most lenders use in sizing up potential borrowers. Get the full story »
Discover Financial sponsoring Orange Bowl
Discover Financial Services, a distant fourth in the credit-card industry, is raising its profile as the new title sponsor of one of college football’s most prestigious bowl games – the Orange Bowl, of course.
The Riverwoods-based company, which has orange in its corporate logo, replaces longtime sponsor FedEx, which ended its 21-year run.
Discover joins Allstate Corp. as a Chicago-area sponsor of a major college football bowl game. Get the full story »
Credit card debt drops to lowest level in 8 years
The amount consumers owed on their credit cards in this year’s second quarter dropped to the lowest level in more than eight years as cardholders continued to pay off balances in the uncertain economy.
The average combined debt for bank-issued credit cards — like those with a MasterCard or Visa logo — fell to $4,951 in the three months ended June 30, down more than 13 percent from $5,719 in the same period a year ago, according to TransUnion. Get the full story »
Credit card rates hit highest level in 9 years
Interest rates continue to tumble for the U.S. Treasury, companies and home buyers alike. But for a large portion of 381 million U.S. credit-card accounts, borrowing rates have been moving only one way: up.
And average rates are likely to climb further soon. New credit-card rules that took effect Sunday limit banks’ ability to charge penalty fees. They come on top of rule changes earlier this year restricting issuers’ ability to adjust rates on the fly. Issuers responded by pushing card rates to their highest level in nine years. Get the full story »
Deal expands MasterCard’s online presence in Europe
MasterCard Inc. will buy U.K. payment services company DataCash Group Plc for $520 million in cash to expand its online commerce business and take market share abroad.
The world’s second-largest credit and debit card payment processing network said it is paying a 54 percent premium to DataCash’s Wednesday closing price. DataCash’s shares rose to a 10-year high. Get the full story »
Survey: Consumers most satisfied with Amex cards
U.S. consumers are slightly more satisfied with their credit cards after a new disclosure law came into effect in February, with American Express being the top pick for the fourth year in a row, followed by Discover cards, an annual survey showed. The J.D. Power and Associates poll released Thursday showed that satisfaction rebounded from a 3-year low in 2009. Get the full story »
Fewer writeoffs, late payments for Discover Card
Writeoffs of uncollectible balances fell for Discover Card in July as did late payments, signaling that consumers are getting debt payments under control.
Discover Financial Services said in a regulatory filing Monday that its net charge-offs declined to $120.9 million, or 7.28 percent in July, from 8 percent in June. Get the full story »
Notebook: Credit cards with the clearest terms
Capital One and Bank of America are the most up-front about the interest rates, fees and rewards on their credit cards, according to a new study by credit card research Web site Cardhub.com.
Sure, most card applications spell out all the terms in the fine print, but most consumers lack the patience to read the tiny disclosures.
Capital One and Bank of America ranked highest among 10 issuers in clarity on their applications, with scores of 96.4 percent and 95 percent, respectively. Get the full story »
Credit-card delinquencies at low for year
Fewer Americans fell behind on credit card payments in June, with delinquencies at their lowest this year at major U.S. card lenders, but the results did not stem concerns about the economic recovery.
Credit card delinquency rates have declined steadily since the beginning of the year, signaling that banks should have to write off less debt as uncollectible. Get the full story »
Discover, Capital One charge-offs fall
Credit card charge-offs and delinquencies improved at Capital One Financial Corp and Discover Financial Services in June as fewer Americans fell seriously behind on credit card payments. The companies said Thursday that their credit card delinquency rates in June fell to the lowest levels this year. Delinquencies are a sign of future losses. Get the full story »
Discover sued over payment protection plan
From Courthouse News Service | Discover Financial Services is being sued in federal court in California over a payment protection plan. The suit says the credit-card company enrolled cardholders in the plan without their knowledge, resulting in unexpected fees.
Indictment: Credit card scam in Ill., 6 other states
A Colorado grand jury has indicted six people from the Oakland, Calif., area on charges of using fake credit cards to get cash and goods in Illinois and six other states.
The indictment, made public Monday, alleges the suspects got a toll-free number and printed it on the back of the cards. When bank or business employees couldn’t authenticate the card, they called the number.
American credit scores sinking to new lows
Figures provided by FICO Inc. show that 25.5 percent of American consumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders. It’s unlikely they will be able to get credit cards, auto loans or mortgages under the tighter lending standards banks now use.
Discover Financial in deal with Serbian network
Discover Financial Services said Thursday it agreed to allow consumers in Serbia use its payment network internationally by the end of the year. DinaCard is the system of national payment cards operated by a division of Serbia’s central bank. It has 2.5 million cards in distribution, according to a release by Discover.
