This Week In Credit Card News: Health Concerns With Credit Card Debt; E-Commerce Fraud Rising

Exploring Links Between Credit Card Debt and Mental Health as Covid Recession Wears On

There are some mixed findings on how much of a stressor credit card debt is compared with other debt, like student loans. Overall, though, people with high credit card debt tend to experience higher stress levels. Unsecured debt, such as debt from credit cards or medical bills, generally is much more likely to be associated with anxiety than secured debt, like mortgages, which are often not thought of as debts at all, but rather investments. [Journalist’s Resource]

As Holiday Shopping Soars, So Does Ecommerce Fraud

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the holiday shopping season thrived over Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, research shows the strong sales were backed with equally strong ecommerce fraud. The more online purchases are made, the more fraudsters look to take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers. [LowCards.com]

Capital One Stops ‘Risky’ Buy-Now-Pay-Later Credit Card Transactions

Capital One has barred customers using its credit cards to clear buy-now-pay-later  debt as the transactions bear unacceptable risk, making it the first to distance itself from the finance alternative. The third-largest U.S. card firm said it would no longer allow “transactions identified as point of sale loans charged on its credit cards, regardless of the point of sale lender”. [Reuters]

US Consumers Applied for More Auto, Student Loans, Cut Back on Credit Card Spending

U.S. consumers took out more auto and student loans in October, but cut back on credit card borrowing, a sign that they remain cautious about spending amid a spike in virus cases. The Federal Reserve said Monday that credit card borrowing fell 6.7%. The figures suggest that consumers haven’t fully recovered from the pandemic recession. Outstanding balances on credit cards are still down nearly 11% compared with their level in February, before the pandemic intensified. [Associated Press]

Millions of Payment Terminals Are Vulnerable to Credit Card Theft Hacks

Point-of-sale payment devices made by two of the industry’s biggest manufacturers contained vulnerabilities that made stealing credit card data much simpler. Millions of devices may be affected. The weaknesses lay in devices made by Verifone and Ingenico. [Forbes]

The 5 Most Popular Credit Card Companies

With dozens of credit card companies on the market, you may wonder which one is the most popular. This ranking is based on the outstanding balances for each credit card issuer as of 2019. Here are the top five credit card companies, their share of outstanding credit card balances, and what makes them so popular with consumers. [The Motley Fool]

GoHenry, a Prepaid Card and Finance App for 6-18 Year Olds, Raises $40 Million

One of the startups building services specifically for those under 18 is announcing a round of growth funding, money that it plans to use to continue building out its business in the US and UK. GoHenry, which provides a pre-paid debit card and corresponding app to minors as young as 6 and no older than 18 that in turn can be controlled and topped up by parents, has raised $40 million. [Tech Crunch]

Use It or Lose It: Redeem Your Credit Card Offers Before 2020 Ends

Premium credit cards often come with a suite of benefits that include money-saving statement credits on travel and dining purchases that can be worth up to $300 annually. But there’s a catch: these credits often expire at the end of each calendar year. Here’s a comprehensive list of credit card statement credit offers that are expiring soon. [CNBC]

How PayPal Is Helping Usher in a Cashless Society

While the U.S. still has a long way to go to match China as a cashless society, PayPal is helping the United States bridge the gap. PayPal has struck deals with several major retailers to use its QR code solution at checkout. If its technology becomes more widely adopted, PayPal will cement its position in the rapidly expanding digital payments market. [The Motley Fool]

Verizon, Fiserv Partner to Offer Touchless Payment Capability

Verizon Business and Fiserv payments provider have announced a partnership that will allow Verizon Business customers access to Fiserv’s Clover Flex. This mobile point-of-sale device uses a Clover platform and has an embedded Verizon SIM Card to enable touchless payments. Verizon Business customers can also use any of the Fiserv merchant services which include debit and credit card processing and online, mobile and in-person payment acceptance options. [Mobile Payments Today]

What You Need to Know About American Express’ Once Per Lifetime Rule

As more travelers learn the value of credit card welcome bonuses, banks have adopted different strategies to prevent credit card churning. Chase applies its infamous 5/24 Rule. Citi limits how many cards you can get in an 8-day and 65-day period and restricts welcome bonuses by card family for a multi-year period. Capital One will only approve you for one new card per 6 months. The American Express rule is straight-forward, yet strict. American Express applies a “once per lifetime” rule. Let’s dive into what you need to know about this rule. [Forbes]

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Digital Payments and the Trucking Industry

When passing long-haul truckers on the road, mobile payments don’t immediately come to mind, but this industry was actually once ahead of technology in trying to streamline the process for truckers to purchase fuel, parts and make repairs while out on the road. What happened to cause this industry to lag behind when other industries were moving forward with digital payments and technology? [Mobile Payments Today]