Whether a rare occurrence or an indication that consumer finances are becoming more stable, for the fifth month in a row reports for May have shown that credit card delinquencies continue to drop. Since the beginning of the year, credit card delinquencies have slowly declined for many of the major credit card issuers as experts and issuers alike hope that this continues on throughout the year. While for many of the issuers there was a decrease in delinquencies there were a couple that did increase. Details can be found within an article entitled, "Credit Card Late Payments Drop for 5th Month in a Row".

Even as the percent of those who are late on payments continue to decline, many experts believe that this trend could easily be reversed without any fault of the credit card issuers. One of the biggest things that would reverse this trend is the uncertainty of unemployment. While these levels still remain high nationally, there is nothing showing any reason why the unemployment rate should decrease any time soon. While it is not as big of a factor as unemployment, another reason on why this decline trend could be reversed deals with artificial inflation. This is done when consumers use funds that are not available to consumers year round. A good example of this is the use of tax refunds and other forms of revenue to pay on credit card debt. While the number of consumers do this is uncertain, researchers will have a better understanding once we move further into 2010 and these revenues start to become obsolete.

Over the last couple of years one of the hottest topics among merchants and issuers alike has been what is called the Chip-and-Pin smart cards. Currently used by many of our international counterparts these credit cards at one time seemed like they would stay out of the pocketbooks of majority of Americans. Instead it now seems that the push for the use of these smart cards has taken a drastic turn as one of the world’s largest retailers has recently announced they would start accepting these cards in their U.S. stores.

When it comes to who will start accepting the Chip-and-Pin smart cards, it is none other than retail giant, Wal-Mart. The company plans to adapt all of its payment terminals for compatibility with smartcard technology by early next year, and some experts predict it could be sooner than that. The reason why some believe it will be sooner is because of the international footprint Wal-Mart already has. In many of the countries that this retailer already does business in, these smart cards are already being accepted. As they already have the technology in place to accept these cards, relatively speaking there should not be any problems upgrading U.S. credit card terminals to accept these smart cards.

Although Wal-Mart has stated that they will be implementing these new smart cards, in the U.S. the Chip-in-Pin cards are something that others have tried hard to stay away from.  For both credit card issuers and companies, the reluctance to allow consumers to make purchases with these cards stems from the cost which is associated with accepting these types of plastic. Issuers would have to issue new card to current cardholders, and merchants would need to replace or update existing equipment in order to accept these new smart cards.

Whether a rare occurrence or an indication that consumer finances are becoming more stable, for the fourth month in a row reports for April have shown that credit card delinquencies continue to drop. Since the beginning of the year, credit card delinquencies have slowly declined for many of the major credit card issuers (American Express, Citi Bank, Bank of America, Discover, Chase and Capital One). However with such decreases, one issuer’s (Bank of America) defaults also know as write-offs slightly increased.  Even with the small increase, some experts are expecting B of A to report decreases in future months just like many of their competitors.

When looking at credit card delinquencies one must remember that they are essentially the measure of the number of credit cardholders more than 30 days late on their payments. Even as delinquencies continue to fall, many believe that economic data still shows that card issuers are not in the clear yet. As unemployment rates still remain high, experts state that credit card defaults will stay at the levels we are seeing today. In addition to that recent data on payments has been artificially inflated by the use funds that are not available to consumers year round. With this they report that many cardholders are using tax refunds to pay on credit card debt and this could result in continuation of delinquencies and defaults by those same cardholders moving forward.

So do you carry a balance? If so, recent moves by issuers could be affecting you without you even realizing it. This is because it has recently been reported that some issuers have decided to continue some of the practices that they performed long before the coveted Credit CARD Act was signed into law. Although it is legal for issuers to do such a thing, in the eyes of consumers it is just the thing that would be expected from big banks.

According to an article on Yahoo Finance entitled "Carry a balance? Banks may be gaming your payments", when it comes to what credit card issuers are doing that could cost you more, it involves the portions of cardholder’s balances that carry different interest rates. While in the past financial institutions could apply payments to any balances, they were particularly applied to those with the lowest rates first. Under the new law, banks are supposed to apply payments that are above the minimum balance owed to those accuring higher rates first. With the controversy that has started to brew, experts point out that the words "above the minimum" is where issuers are still getting over on cardholders. With this three word phrase it simply means that if payments are not above the specified amount, they can still be applied to the lowest rates costing you more money in the end.

When hearing news such as this, on all accounts this is something that cardholders have come to expect especially after the multiple drastic changes that occurred over the last year. For a while now many experts have predicted that credit card issuers would try something to increase revenue, but were not sure on what it may be. As is the case now, many cardholders are reluctant to use their credit cards and remain wary of issuers.
 

Think that you are the only one deciding to use your credit card less? If so, think again as when it comes to the switch to using debit cards more than a credit card; the cardholders in the United States are not alone. Like America, our Australian counterparts have decided that it is now time to change the type of plastic they have come to enjoy to something that is not as costly to use.

When it comes to overall card usage in Australia it is reported that more than 275 million transactions are record each month (of that an average of 116 million are contributed to credit cards) over the past five years. While the number of card usage is staggering, over the same time period Australian credit card usage has dropped nearly 17% and is expected to drop even more within the coming months. In what seem to be the story across every country, the reasoning for the usage decline does not seem to be surprising. It is due to high interest rates as well as increased fees.

As was the case here in America, it seems that cardholders around the world are starting to move toward living within their means, and using their own money instead of borrowing it from banks. In many cases the use of debit cards has increased dramatically and has taken center stage as the card to use. While no one for sure knows exactly how high or long the trend of switching to debit cards will last, the thing that is for sure is that it is not just one single country that has made the move and many more will probably soon follow suit.

While much attention has been brought to being able to pay with goods by using your cell phone instead of with a credit card it now seems that the newest thing being tested is known as "tap and go". While it is not widely available as of yet, it is something that some believe could continue to grow and eventually take hold as now more than ever American are depending on their mobile devices.

When it comes to this new "tap and go" technology, consumers no longer have to carry or swipe their debit or credit card. Instead, they simply use their cell phone to make purchases by waving (tapping) a quarter sized microchip sticker attached to their phones or mobile device. When this is done they enable debit transactions directly from their checking or saving account. Then in real time they receive a updated balance of their account letting them know where they stand financially.

While this may seem like something that could take a while to catch on there are many reasons on why this could be used by many over traditional debit and credit cards. One of the most main reasons is that the company that makes these products say has a lower risk of fraud, reducing identity theft greatly. Since there is no personal information on the microchip there isn’t information that thieves would be able to use to access your account. Another reason deals more with business owners as it could one day help them save money. As interchange fees continue to rise and there is no regulation on such fees nowhere in sight this could very well be the answer.

Have you ever wondered how much the regulations implemented with the Credit CARD Act would cost issuers? While in the past there were theories, it now looks like we know as one of the largest issuers in the country has decided to announce how much they are expecting to lose. That issuer is Chase and the amount is substantial, no matter how you look at it.

According to a recent article by the associated press the loss of potential revenue by Chase hits the tune of somewhere between $500 and $750 million. Just like many other credit card issuers the loss is due to the changes directed around interest rates as well as fees. The increases in rates as well as fees (over-limit fee for example) made up a substantial part of their revenue and now issuers must find other ways to not only offset these but hopefully make a profit.

When it comes to offsetting such a huge loss in potential revenue there are a couple of things that Chase says has to be done, one of which is reducing the amount of cards issued. According to the CEO, they will no longer offer cards to around 15 percent of its current customers. The reason behind this is mainly because some cardholders are now considered too risky. In addition to that, they have already reduced credit lines and canceled cards that have gone inactive for a substantial period of time.

Were you one of the 2 million FaceBook fans that helped determine which charity received a hefty donation of $1 million from Chase? If not, then not only did you miss out on helping your favorite charity receive a substantial amount of money of which they could  have put to good use; but also on what many experts are labeling one of the largest social media events of its kind to have ever taken place by a credit card issuer.

Although the Chase Community Giving Program contest is now over, both Chase and Facebook teamed up to literally give away millions. The contest which was broken down into two rounds, started out with around five hundred thousand eligible foundations that were voted on until just one hundred remained. In the second round, the charity that received the most votes was named the winner and got to claim the $1 million grand prize. The winner of the contest was a charity known as Invisible Children, who received more than 100,000 votes. While others did not get the highest payout, other charities who were in the top one hundred did obtain $25 thousand. As for voting you did not have to be a Chase credit cardholder in order to cast your vote.

If you missed the opportunity and want to check out a complete recap of the Chase Community Giving Program contest, just go to their Facebook page that can be found on http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/home/recap.

Over the last couple of months there is no doubt that we have seen many good and bad changes (depending on who you ask) within the financial industry. While most of the changes have been focused on Wall Street and credit cards there is still more to come due to the continuation of the Credit CARD Act. Now the focus will be shifted over to gift cards and August 22, when the next act of the law is implemented.

When it comes to the new rules effecting gift cards, they are intended to help limit the abusive fees and early expiration dates that traditionally leave cardholders with a valueless card if it is not used. As for what to expect from the new law, consumers will starting seeing something similar to credit cards as gift cards now must have disclosures that are easy to read and understand. They will also notice that issuers are no longer able to charge inactivity or service fees for cards that go unused within the first year of it purchase.

Unlike credit card issuers, it seems that for the most part the prepaid industry has not made much of a fuss about the changes that will take effect. As of the moment, one of the only complaints that have been voiced concerns the short amount of time that issuers have to comply with the new rules. According to a news release from the NBPCA (The Network Prepaid Card Association) because there is a tight deadline to make card products that comply with the new law, it may have some bearing on the availability of the most popular gift cards during the holidays.

When it comes to making purchases how have you decided to pay for them? While in the past, the answer to this question would probably be answered with a credit card, many things have changed and so have many people’s answers.

To get a better understanding of why people answers have changed; we look at an article entitled "Credit Card Usage Drops, Even As Retail Sales Increase" where we see that even with increases in retail sells in February it does not necessarily mean credit card issuers are seeing an increase in usage. Instead they are seeing the opposite and have found that credit card, which once made up nearly half of all payment transactions, are now below that of both cash and debit cards. Even with online sales, credit cards have taken a hit as more consumers are opting to use debit cards and other alternative payments.

When it comes to the decline of credit card usage, it is something research has shown peaked with the dramatic interest rate increases and credit limit decreases at the end of 2009. Before then, it was a slow and steady shift in payment and spending habits to things such as debit cards and cash. As we move deeper into 2010, many consumers have come to think twice before deciding to pay for goods and services with their credit cards. While the reasons are quite different some have decided to move away from their plastic because are still worried about the economy and high unemployment numbers. Others simply have rethought their financial situations and have decided that paying with credit cards may not the best thing when trying to reach their financial goals.