This Week In Credit Card News: Another Fake Account Scandal; Some Issuers Offer Assistance During Coronavirus Outbreak

Another Big U.S. Bank is Being Accused of Opening Fake Accounts

The CFPB is suing Fifth Third for opening accounts, including credit cards, that its customers didn’t know about or request. Fifth Third employees sometimes moved money from authorized accounts to unauthorized ones and then closed the fake account once they received credit for reaching their sales goals, according to the civil complaint. Customers saddled with unauthorized accounts were also charged unfair fees. [The Washington Post]

Credit Card Issuers Offer Customer Assistance in Response to Coronavirus

As coronavirus continues to incite global economic fears and threaten public health, credit card issuers are beginning to roll out assistance programs for cardholders who may be financially affected by the outbreak. For example, eligible Citi credit cardholders may make use of “always on” assistance programs, which include credit line increases and collection forbearance options. Forbearance plans offered by your issuer may include postponing payments for several months, lowering monthly minimum payments or even eliminating some fees. [Bankrate]

Coronavirus Crisis: The Future of Cash, Checks, Credit Cards & Crypto

‘Dirty money,’ is literally true. Will concerns about cash carrying Coronavirus give Americans an incentive to ditch traditional currency and coins in favor of digital alternatives, including cryptocurrencies? Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Federal Reserve banks have been quarantining dollars that come back from Asia for seven to ten days to avoid spreading the virus. In China and South Korea, banknotes have been quarantined for seven to 14 days after being  subjected to ultraviolet light, or simply destroyed. South Korea’s central bank already routinely heats money to disinfect it. [The Financial Brand]

Wells Fargo Officials Resign Days Before They Were Set To Testify Before Congress

Two Wells Fargo board members have resigned, including chairwoman Elizabeth Duke. The departures come days after a House committee report found the bank has been too slow to reform itself in the wake of a series of scandals, including widespread fraud in the consumer banking business tied to overly aggressive sales goals. [NPR]

JPMorgan Chase Settles in Suit Over Credit Card Crypto Purchases

The sixth-largest bank worldwide, JPMorgan Chase Bank, has settled a lawsuit over unannounced changes made to the fee structure applied to cryptocurrency purchases made using its credit cards in 2018. The three plaintiffs accused Chase Bank of violating its cardholder terms of service by applying the fee structure for cash advances to cryptocurrency purchases made with Chase’s credit cards for 10 days without providing any warning as to the change. During a previous hearing, Chase sought to argue that cryptocurrency purchases comprise “cash-like transactions” as per its terms of service, and as such, it did not breach its contract with cardholders. [Coin Telegraph]

If Tim Cook Won’t Tell The World How The Apple Card Is Doing, I Will

Roughly 3.1 million Americans, or 2.2% of all US adults with a credit card, have the Apple Card already. Who they are may surprise you. Most are younger consumers: 70% are Millennials and only 3% are Baby Boomers. Just a third have annual household income below $50k (versus 55% of the overall population) and a third have income greater than $100k. They’re a highly educated group: 56% have a college degree. Six in 10 Apple Card customers consider the card to be their primary credit card. [Forbes]

Mobile Banking Set Up in a Number of Areas Hard-Hit by Tornadoes

Banks are beginning to move mobile banking options into areas hard-hit by the tornadoes on March 7th. Regions Bank has placed a full-service bank branch in North Nashville after their branch at that location suffered catastrophic tornado damage. Regions says they will waive ATM fees for anyone who does not bank with them, but must use their machines for transactions, as well as suspending ATM fees charged to their customers using other banks ATMs, both through March 19th. [WSMV]

PayPal Aspires to Reach 1 Billion Users

PayPal ended the year with 305 million active accounts, but CEO Dan Schulman thinks there’s a lot of room left to grow. “Our aspiration is to have a billion people on our platform,” Schulman said. Schulman was clear this was merely an aspiration for the company, not an outlook. PayPal has added 143 million active accounts over the last five years. The average PayPal user makes just over 40 transactions per year now, up from about 25 five years ago. [The Motley Fool]

Mastercard, Samsung Team Up for Financing Devices in Emerging Markets

Mastercard starts a partnership with Samsung to enable digital access to consumers and small businesses in emerging markets through its Pay on Demand platform. The platform will be launched in the Middle East and Africa region in early 2020 and extend to additional regions later. The Pay on Demand platform includes: a lending marketplace that provide consumers with affordable device financing from lenders; Samsung’s Knox security platform to ensure safety of consumer data; and tools for consumers to analyze and build their credit history from usage data. [Seeking Alpha]

Prepaid Debit Card Innovation Once Again Resolves a Pain Point in the Hospitality Industry

In the hospitality industry, tipping for service is the norm. However, not all tipping is done in cash. If a tip is added to the bill and paid for with plastic, the funds are not immediately available to the workers. Prepaid debit cards are the perfect solution for immediate payout of workers tips on a daily basis, and can be used immediately once funded. Employers can transfer gratuities instantly to a prepaid card. This also creates a safer environment for workers who are no longer leaving jobs with wallets full of paper cash. [Payments Journal]

How Digital Gift Card Businesses Are Using Big Data To Boost Customer Experience

Thanks to advancements in technology surrounding online monetary transfers, customers can now access all kinds of digital gift cards in a few clicks. This is also creating a significant advantage for businesses that can use big data to form digital gift card systems. Use of big data can lead to substantial benefits, including better customer acquisition and retention, improved campaign focus, and targeting. [Forbes]