Posted by Tom Wilkins on Wed 5th September 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Credit News
In a sting operation backed by the People (a British newspaper), reporters from the paper caught various retailers selling pre paid credit cards without ID checks. Kids are known to use these cards for purchasing alcohol, weapons and gambling online.
From it’s research, the People established that that UK youngsters can obtain pre-payment cards for as little as £3 from shops and newsagents with negligible checks on age, name or address.
These cards can then be used by youngsters to buy adult goods and services online.
The teenager used by the paper to expose this story said:
“It was unbelievable how easy it was, Kids at school buy these cards so they can order stuff off the internet. Once you have one, you can get away with just about anything.”
UK law specifies that credit cards are only available to those over the age of 18 and even then the individual must go through rigorous credit checks and reference checks. Whether these checks are rigorous enough seems to be questionable.
Posted by Tom Wilkins on Tue 4th September 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Credit News
UK consumers rely heavily on credit card debt for a variety purchasing activities.
What about UK businesses?
A recent report suggests business can find flexibility, ease and convenience by using credit cards instead of petty cash.
The report says:
Read more...
Posted by Tom Wilkins on Mon 3rd September 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Credit News
There have been some fascinating results emanating from the eighth annual poll on Teens and Personal Finance by Junior Achievement Worldwide. Most of the evidence seems to indicate that teenagers are often developing dubious credit habits.
One of the key tenets of the report suggests:
“Many teens seem to be taking advantage of parental responsibility for minors’ debts by not bothering to learn how to manage their credit card’s monthly payments,”
i.e the bank of mummy and daddy jump in to help - and the kids know it!
Interesting stats coming from the poll include:
• Among teens ages 13-14, only 2.7 percent report having credit cards.
• The percentage nearly doubles to 5.3 percent for teens 15-16.
• Percentages double again to 10.6 percent for 17-year-olds.
• Percentages nearly triple to 28.8 percent for teens 18 or older.
However, this growing market of teenage credit card consumers seems to be lacking the nous to manage their debts sensibly
Read more...
Posted by Tom Wilkins on Fri 31st August 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Credit News
Credit cards do offer a wide range of useful features. However, one complaint that often crops up is the cost of withdrawing cash.
It seems that many credit card companies see cash withdrawals as an easy meal ticket. I suppose they’ve got to make their money somewhere but the fees and interest on cash withdrawals is gradually becoming a problem.
Here’s why:
1. Card issuers begin charging you interest as soon as you withdraw the cash.
2. In contrast, many cards offer interest free periods on purchases if you pay off the balance in full.
3. Interest rates charged on cash withdrawals from credit cards is significantly higher than that charged on purchases. E.g American Express charges 20pc on cash withdrawals, compared with 18.9pc on purchases, according to a recent survey..
4. A fee of 1.5% is usually charged on any cash withdrawal.
5. Really watch out when you’re abroad. You might get a double whammy of cash charges and interest, plus currency conversion fees. Ouch. UK based Nationwide Credit Card is always best for use on holiday.
Posted by Tom Wilkins on Thu 30th August 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Credit News
Bank of America has apparently signed up to a 3 year sponsorship deal with the National Football League.
This is an expansion on a previous agreement that incorporated NFL and team identified credit cards as well as a sports rewards program. It sounds similar to the rewards program set up by the UK’s Barclaycard Football Credit Card - 0% on All Season Tickets.
According to BizJournals:
“Under the new agreement, BofA has launched nationwide NFL Checking, a portfolio of team-specific products that includes debit cards and checks with logos from the Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Washington Redskins.
A suite of debit cards and credit cards bearing the NFL logo will be available in November. BofA (NYSE: BAC) will have the exclusive rights in banking services to use the NFL shield logo and other NFL-licensed marks, such as the Super Bowl, in marketing and advertising promotions through the 2009 season. Services include consumer checking and savings; credit, debit and ATM card issuance; wire and currency transfer services; currency-exchange services; and community-development banking. BofA also will have the rights to advertise during NFL games and on NFL-controlled media assets, such as NFL Network and NFL.com.”
