A provider of card-based prepaid financial products to underbanked customers NetSpend has signed a distributor agreement with Check City, a check cashing and payday loan provider in the Mountain West and Mid-Atlantic regions. The distributor agreement positions NetSpend as the chain’s exclusive prepaid debit card provider. With 70 stores in Nevada, Utah, Virginia, Maryland and Colorado, Check City will increase NetSpend’s check cashing distribution in these regions and is expected to drive significant card sales and direct deposit enrollments.

Online payment system PayPal announced that it has introduced a new service known as the Student Account which provides US teens with a convenient and quick option to pay for their purchases while shopping online and in stores. The service comes to the use of a special PayPal branded MasterCard debit card that is linked to parents’ PayPal account.

This week American Express announced the launch of a new service that allows its cardmembers to set spending limits for Additional Cards on their account. Instead of providing cash to their teenagers, other family members, the nanny, or other household helpers, Cardmembers can set, manage and track spending limits on Additional Cards, helping them to maintain a tighter household budget and track all family expenditures billed to their Card.

My dad has at least eight credit cards in his wallet, with a $0 balance on about six of them. The balance on the other two is around $50 in total. But he tells me that the credit limit for all those cards combined equals around $15,000! So, why he doesn’t use them more often, when clearly he could use the money? His answer: “I don’t want to have to pay all that back.” And that is how credit cards should be used. 

Traveling is fun and relaxing but often expensive. How to take a long-waited holiday in the sun a bit quicker? Banks offer a simple solution - airmiles credit cards. They give cardholders an excellent opportunity to get airline tickets and other travel-related incentives just for making day-to-day purchases. 

Whether you have your own business or want to start running one, small business credit cards may be the right choice for you. They offer many useful features to help your business thrive and grow. For example, you can separate business expenses from personal spending and keep detailed records of business purchases. It will make your bookkeeping tasks a lot easier to handle. However, remember that business credit cards are not flawless, so everyone has to be smart in using them. 

Do you have a credit card? There are some free insurance benefits available to you! Most credit companies offer various insurances to make their plastics more attractive for customers. For example, you can get refund if your purchases are damaged or avoid financial losses in case your credit card is lost or stolen. However, many cardholders don’t know about this coverage. So read about most common free credit card insurances and how they work. 

The lack of financial literacy can result into serious troubles. It especially concerns teens and young adults who have insufficient money management habits and experience to make smart financial decisions. So teaching your kids about spending, saving and investing is vitally important. Preventive financial education will prepare your kids for the real world and give them necessary skills to build a solid credit history that will serve them for years to come. 

Credit.com released the results of the survey conducted for National Consumer Protection Week (March 1-8) according to which a third (33.7%) of consumers have been subject to some changes to their credit accounts. The greatest amount (15%) of the respondents’ interest rates was increased, following with increasing minimum payment due of 11% of the respondents. 

Shopping for a new credit card? Despite the tough economic times, there are hundreds of offers designed for all groups of customers and various types of a credit score. They provide different terms, features and rewards programs. No wonder that many consumers feel lost in the mass of credit card deals available on the market. How to choose the most suitable plastic when there are so many attractive offers? 

SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc. announced its quadruple-digit gains for January 2009. The company pointed at an increase of 1,110% representing $1,075,960.00 in Payment processing for this month, against $96,650.00 in the same period of last year. The company considers its unique products and fulfillment capacity to be the key elements in its growth.

What do you have in your wallet? I bet at least one credit card! Nowadays you can hardly find a person having no plastics at all. The average U.S. consumer carries from three to six credit cards in his/her wallet. It seems that many people start to forget what cash looks like! 

Late credit card payments are hitting record highs. In December, the amount of credit card debt delinquent over 60 days made up 3.75%. The previous high of 3.73% was set in February, 1997. Slowing economic activity, collapse of the subprime mortgage market, job losses, raising gasoline and food prices have strained the budgets of many Americans. If you can’t afford to pay your credit card bills on time, lenders are ready to help you.

[img_assist|nid=7097|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=62]Qatar National Bank has announced the launch of promotion campaign which should start on October 5 and continue up to December 2, 2008.  According to press release every specific amount of money spent via the QNB MasterCard Credit Card, will automatically add the customer to the daily draw in which 43 winners in total would win a month's worth of groceries. 

[img_assist|nid=8085|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=85]Discover Financial Services, the fourth-biggest U.S. credit-card company, may settle for up to $4 billion with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. in a lawsuit over their efforts to keep banks from working with rivals, according to three industry analysts.