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28 Oct 2011 08:35

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Biz: Not every financial outlet trying Bank of America’s debit card fees

  • cause Last month, Bank of America decided that it would start charging monthly for the use of debit cards. Some companies (including SunTrust and Regions) followed suit. Consumers freaked out and totally got up on arms.
  • reaction With some time and distance away from the original decision, a number of large banks have chosen not to follow suit — among them J.P. Morgan Chase, which tested them for months and found that they weren’t working. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 01:01

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Biz, Tech: Could Bank of America’s debit card charge push us to digital wallets?

  • It may be too early now to talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences, but years from now, we may owe a debt to reforms like Dodd-Frank for finally weaning us off the physical wallet and encouraging us to experiment with the new technologies helping to create the Digital Wallet.
  • The Washington Post’s Dominic Basulto • Arguing that Dodd-Frank’s side effects — such as Bank of America‘s decision to start charging people for the right to use a debit card — will be great in the long run, because it will push consumers and businesses to stop relying on banks for these sorts of services, instead going for phone-based options, provided by companies such as Google or Square, instead. Basuito compares Bank of America’s controversial move to Netflix‘s price-raising scheme, and suggests it will hurt them long-term. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jun 2011 11:21

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Biz: Senate goes back-and-forth fighting over debit card fees

  • 44¢ the average cost of debit card interchange fees to merchants; this should make you feel guilty every time you go to 7-Eleven, because that cuts into profit margins heavily
  • 12¢ the limit that the Feds plan to impose upon banking companies about this matter; this is a $16 billion/year business, and banking companies are fighting to protect it source
  • » A fight that directly affects small businesses: We’ve been to many small businesses in our day that have gone out of their way to avoid using debit cards, specifically for this reason. We’re with them in this case; really high charges for every purchase, even tiny ones, is straight up greedy. Fortunately, a key senator, Dick Durbin, agrees with us: “Honestly, are we going to stand here and say we can’t protect small businesses across America struggling to survive?” The fight for keeping the fees has bipartisan support; the main guys backing banks in the Senate are Bob Corker (R-TN) and Jon Tester (D-MT). They claim that banks will have to replace the interchange charges with higher fees on consumers. Maybe they should; the benefit to small business as an economic driver makes it worth it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2010 09:54

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U.S.: How do California residents spend their welfare money? High rollin’

  • $1.8 million in funds were pulled out at casino ATMs source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 May 2010 10:36

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Biz: Don’t expect credit companies to give up the war on card fees

  • They plan to keep fighting for them. The interchange fees, which merchants often complain about as being too high for certain transactions, could put a big crimp in Visa and MasterCard’s bottom line if regulated as part of a broader financial reform package. “We lost this battle. It’s a big battle,” said MasterCard’s President for U.S. Markets Chris McWilton. “But the war wages on and we’ll be working really hard over the next week or so to stop this.” If you own a small business, watch this battle. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 May 2010 10:55

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Biz: Credit-card makers hit hard by the Senate’s debit-card changes

  • -8.5% decline in Visa’s stock since the Senate passed the changes last night
  • -7.5% decline in MasterCard’s stock; the amendment limits card fees source
  • » Other companies: Visa and MasterCard felt it the worst, but they weren’t alone. American Express and Capital One also fell sharply in trading this morning due to the amendment’s unexpected passage, which limits the fees card companies can charge merchants. It still needs to go through the House as part of the broader financial reform bill.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Mar 2010 16:49

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Biz: In case you were wondering, illicit money is really, really heavy

  • 100 lbs. the weight of a million dollars
    in mixed bills – something that a dog would notice immediately
  • twenty number of prepaid debit cards you’d need to carry a similar amount; drug runners win source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

26 Mar 2010 11:18

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Biz: Cost of a year in prison: Two million stolen debit and credit cards

  • 40
    million     number of card numbers Albert Gonzalez, 28, stole via hacking
  • 20
    years     number of years he’ll be spending in prison; privacy is cheap source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Oct 2009 09:50

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Biz: We’re using debit cards more and charge cards less

  • +4.1% incresase in the use of debit cards to pay for everything source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jul 2009 11:38

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Biz: Why 7-Eleven is fighting against bank card interchange fees

  • $6
    bucks     The average consumer’s purchase for the kind of food you eat at 3 a.m. in the morning when you have an unexpected hunger for congealed cheese; it’s a very low-margin racket source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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