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News Library - February, 2005

Cards Galore February, 25, 2005

At the end of 2004, Americans carried 657 million bank credit cards, 228 million debit cards, and 550 million retail credit cards in their wallets. At the current rate of growth, the number of payment cards in the U.S. should hit 1.5 trillion by the end of ... more

PayPass Football February, 24, 2005

MasterCard has teamed with MBNA, the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens Football Clubs to integrate its "PayPass" contactless payment technology into the Seahawks and Ravens "Extra Points" credit card programs. Both Qwest Field and M&T Bank Stadium will ... more

Wal-Mart Discover February, 23, 2005

The first Discover card issued by an outside firm was officially launched this week with the release of the "Wal-Mart Discover" card. The new card features three cents a gallon off gasoline at more than 700 Wal-Mart stores, and up to 1% cash back on ... more

Tiny Charges February, 22, 2005

While many merchants shun payment card transactions of $10 or less, small ticket credit/debit card purchases have grown by a factor of more than six times this decade. Last year, Americans racked up more than $35 billion in small ticket purchases, led by ... more

Gassed-Up Cards February, 17, 2005

ExxonMobil is mailing out more than 7 million new credit cards to its existing customers. The re-designed and enhanced cards offer new fraud deterrent technology, provide cardholders a choice of payment dates, and incorporate a standardized 16-digit account ... more

Starbucks Cards February, 16, 2005

The number of Starbucks prepaid cards, activated, nearly doubled last year from 25 million to 48 million. Last week, Starbucks announced its first-ever collectible card bearing the image of Seattle Mariner's superstar Ichiro Suzuki. more

Bloody Hi APR February, 15, 2005

While the highest interest rate changed on a U.S. bank credit card is now about 42%, a new VISA card is being offered to British peasants that carries an interest rate as high as 69.5%. Provident Financial PLC announced this week that its Vanquis Bank ... more

Xmas Gift Cards February, 14, 2005

A new study has found that consumers are holding $9 billion in unredeemed value on gift cards received during the holidays. The research also found that gift cards generated about $18 billion in retail sales during December and January. more

Dec Debt February, 11, 2005

Revolving consumer credit, mostly credit card debt, edged up modestly by $900 million during December at an annual growth rate of 1.4%. The slower growth during the holiday season is due to larger monthly payments. more

Emerging Markets February, 10, 2005

Credit card acceptance continues to expand, especially into smaller purchases. Last year, VISA reported that fast food sales on credit/debit cards, which average about $12 per sale, increased 67%, while small ticket sales, $5.00 or less, grew by more than ... more