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Consumers love debit cards. And no wonder. This payment method is convenient and secure, and it allows consumers to “pay as they go and track their spending of ready funds,” says Ed Kadletz, head of debit and prepaid cards at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis. But what really happens when a consumer makes a purchase with a debit card? Here’s a quick tour through the three-part process. What Happens After the Swipe? Authorization. When someone swipes a debit card through a merchant’s terminal, the terminal reads the magnetic strip on the back of the card and transmits the data to a [...]

No matter where you shop for presents this holiday season, one question will remain after the holidays: When was the last time you spent some quality time with your credit card statement? With paperless billing and automatic payments, many people don’t bother to review their monthly charges and overlook any hidden messages on a statement. If you’re among the guilty of blindly paying your monthly credit card bills, here are some things you could be missing: The “reality check” box. Somewhere on a statement is a section that discloses how long it will take you to pay off your debt [...]

Dear Credit Card Adviser, In a recent article, you warned against putting too many expenses on a credit card. You said it could hurt my credit score — even if I pay off the balance each month — by adding too much debt compared with the amount of credit under my name. How does this work with my American Express card, which requires payment in full each month?  — Doug Dear Doug, The type of card from American Express you described is a charge card, not a credit card. There are key differences between the two, including how they affect [...]

Dear Credit Card Adviser,  I’ve been paying a monthly credit card fee on my American Express. I never agreed to it, and I thought I had no choice in the matter. But now, they just wrote me to say they’re discontinuing the fee. What gives? What is this fee?  -Elika Dear Elika,  You have run into a hot topic. American Express’ account protector service is considered an add-on product offered by credit card companies. This particular service promises to pay a small portion of your credit card balance if you experience a major life event such as a job loss [...]

Stand Up to Your Credit Card Company Got a beef with your credit card company? If customer service won’t help, you may want to bring your credit card dispute to someone who carries a bigger proverbial stick. You have a lot of choices. A number of agencies are ready to stand with you during disputes over interest rates, mysterious charges, stolen credit card numbers and a host of other credit card issues. Bankrate has compiled a list of some of the biggest players, ranging from nonprofits to government agencies. Check out where they’re located, how they can help and the [...]

Dear Cashing In, Another holiday season is about to come and go without me getting to do what I really want to do with rewards — take a flight back home for the holidays. I live in the New York area and most of my family is in Los Angeles and San Francisco. We usually gather in San Francisco for the holidays. My goal in 2013 is to get on a free flight for either the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday to go home. Right now, I have three general purpose rewards credit cards: a Visa (my main card), a Discover [...]

Dear Debt Adviser, We need to consolidate our credit card debt. Do you know any trustworthy agencies that can help? Our payments are so high that we’re struggling to pay down more than the interest. What would be the smart route to take? We’re both nurses with two kids and a house for one year. Please help! Sincerely,  — John Dear John, You can trust a nonprofit credit-counseling agency that is a member of either the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies or the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Both of these organizations have consumer protection standards that their [...]

An Australian Parliamentary committee is looking at potential reforms of national security legislation to battle cyber crime.”Operation Lino” involved 14 countries and uncovered credit card transactions worth $ 31MVictims were small businesses and retailers, who often have less-secure payment gateways65% of bank card fraud cases reported in Australia in 2011 were perpetrated overseasGheorghe “the Carpathian Bear” Ignat, a Greco-Roman heavyweight wrestler also detainedHong Kong — Australian police say seven people have been arrested in Romania as part of a joint international criminal investigation into the largest credit card data theft in Australia’s history.Among those detained by the Romanian investigative agency [...]

Credit card delinquency rates rose for the first time in nearly a year, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. Combined with rising unemployment figures and concerns about the long term effects of Hurricane Sandy, the report scared investors into a sell-off that affected shares of Capital One and Citi during November. The financial research firm reported that “late stage” credit card delinquencies rose just two basis points in October. That slight upward shift was just enough to break a yearlong streak during which fewer consumers allowed their credit cards to fall more than 60 days past due. “Early stage” delinquencies [...]

Your 16-year-old wants a credit card for essential shopping trips and school excursions. That way, she explains ever so reasonably, she doesn’t have to carry wads of cash or drag you along to the mall, and she’s covered in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, you envision wild spending sprees and whopping credit card bills. Should parents ever add teens as secondary card holders to their accounts? The answer depends on a variety of factors, and there is no correct answer for everyone. Here’s what you should consider: Financial experience before credit card Children who have handled a savings account, earned [...]