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Robert Johnson, President of Consumers for Competitive Choice (C4CC), issued the following statement in response to Andrew Martin’s front page story in today’s New York Times titled, “The Card Game: How Visa, Using Card Fees, Dominates a Market.”

“I am pleased that the New York Times is drawing attention to the issues of debit card steering and interchange fees, or swipe fees — two of the many methods that Visa has been using to line their pockets on the backs of small businesses and consumers for far too long. What this article makes abundantly clear is that the most important thing to card companies like Visa is their bottom line — at any cost! Is there any other industry where we put up with practices like this?

“As the article points out, not only do signature debit purchases cost twice as much as PIN debit purchases for retailers, but PIN debit cards are less vulnerable to fraud making them a safer choice for card carrying customers. Yet Visa, MasterCard and others continue to steer customers toward signature debit purchases, even going so far as offering glittering prizes that customers only qualify for by making signature debit purchases. Why? I think that answer is clear … because at the end of the day it means higher profits for big banks and Visa and MasterCard. It is truly disgusting.

“Small businesses have long been willing to pay their fair share with regard to interchange fees, but as the article makes clear, debit purchases were somewhat fee neutral until visa changed that in order to incentivize big banks to issue more credit cards. It is this greed that has led to an escalation of over 300% in interchange fees since 2001, resulting in interchange revenue that has increased to $45 billion today. These fees are excessive and reasonable reform is absolutely necessary.

“I hope that by highlighting these bad business practices, and the perverse form of competition that has been taking place in the credit card industry — on the basis of raising prices as opposed to lowering them — Congress will take swift and appropriate action, and immediately address interchange fees. Small businesses and consumers have been unfairly bearing the burden of the greed that has been prevalent in credit card companies for far too long.”

For more information, visit thecreditcardcon.com.

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Throughout the country, a new breed of tech savvy identity thieves are popping up. After stealing credit card numbers, computer hackers can take inexpensive equipment to re-magnetize their personal cards with the victim’s information. They can then rack up large bills before consumers even know what happened.

This can spell big trouble for the major retailers, but even bigger trouble for consumers. The editor of PictureCredit.com, a leading Free Credit Report website that offers information on credit and identity theft, has outlined 8 ways for consumers to protect themselves from this, and other, identity theft scams.

What steps can consumers take to protect themselves from these types of things? Below are several steps to protect consumers’ identities, with more located on their website.

Monitor Your Credit Card Statements
In the event that your information has been stolen without your knowledge, one of the best ways to protect yourself in to constantly monitor your credit card statements. Many credit card companies offer online access to your account, where the charges are updated instantly; this is a quick and easy way to stay on top of fraud

Shred Sensitive Documents
Although not immensely prevalent in this day and age, it’s still a good practice to destroy all documents containing sensitive information that thieves may be able to use to steal your identity. You don’t need papers with your credit card information floating around. Also, most credit card companies offer paperless updates and statements, so there’s no paper copy of your transactions everything is emailed instead.

Stay Alert
Just reading articles like this and informing yourself on current credit scams is one of the best ways to protect yourself. In this case, knowledge really is power. Spend an hour or so each week keeping up on credit news and you’ll be far ahead of the game.

For more information, visit picturecredit.com.

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Choosing the right credit card can be a daunting task. Often the bank’s own website buries important details deep in pages of fine print. This makes it very difficult for consumers to accurately compare credit cards from a single bank, let alone hundreds of products offered by banks, building societies and credit unions. Now there is a new website that allows Australian consumers to compare credit cards in one location. CreditCards.com.au is a highly respected Australian website designed to help ordinary people choose the best credit card for their needs.

The high-ranking web portal provides the vital information on a wide range of credit cards, as well as links to hundreds of applications for credit cards from Australian financial institutions. Frequent articles and industry news provides information on the top 10 credit cards in Australia. Customers are also given excellent opportunities to find great deals for themselves with practical comparison charts and even a credit card savings calculator.

The extensive range of credit card comparison tools on offer is part of the site’s appeal.

For more information, visit creditcards.com.au.

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Affinion Group, Inc., a global leader in customer engagement solutions that enhance and extend the relationship and loyalty of millions of consumers, today announced it has expanded its world-class suite of consumer protection products by acquiring a portfolio of credit card registry subscribers and the associated fee revenue stream from one of the country’s largest national financial institutions.
This credit card registration program is designed to protect, assist and reimburse customers whenever a registered card is lost or stolen. Customers enjoy the benefits of placing just one call to cancel and replace all lost or stolen cards, access emergency cash, activate credit monitoring, identity theft assistance and expense reimbursement.

For more information, visit affinion.com.

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