Credit cards and gambling: The Web as both the problem and the solution

Aug 17, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

Should you be allowed to sit in your skivvies and gamble away your time via online poker? And go into credit card debt if you lose?

We have written extensively about the issue of online gambling, since the most popular way to pay for that habit has been credit cards.

A 2006 federal law, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, placed the onus on credit card issuers to make sure their cards weren’t being used for online gambling.

Now, in a twist, California Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Jerry Brown has announced that his office will start using the Web to prevent problem gamblers from going into cardrooms. Instead of being part of the problem, his office is trying to make the Web part of the solution to problem gambling.

Since 2007, the state has had a paper-based system in which people who know they have a gambling problem can banish themselves from the state’s cardrooms.

A little more than 1,000 people have joined the “Self-Exclusion Program,” filling out a paper and providing a photo to the state.

It goes into a database that is distributed to the cardrooms.

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How Do Credit Card Companies Make Money?

Aug 15, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

Credit card Q&A: “How do credit card companies make money?”

Credit card companies make money in a variety of different ways. The first and most obvious way is via consumer-related fees.

We’ve all paid late fees, over-the-limit fees, and so forth. Credit card companies make a ton by charging fees for all types of different slip-ups made by us cardholders.

For example, your credit card issuer may charge you for making a late payment or going over your limit.

Here is a list of common fees charged by credit card issuers:

- Late payment fee
– Over-the-limit fee
– Pay-by-phone fee
– Balance transfer fee
– Annual fee
– Return payment fee
– Return check fee
– Cash advance fee
– Foreign transaction fee
– Finance charges

Most of those fees are self-explanatory. The last one on the list, finance charges, refers to the money credit card companies make by charging you interest on your purchases.

The higher your APR, the more they make in finance charges. If th

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ICICI-BoR merger gets RBI nod

Aug 14, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

Banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India has finally given approval to the ICICI- Bank of Rajasthan merger. Now all 463 branches of BoR will come under the branch network of the largest private sector bank of the country, ICICI Bank.

“All branches of Bank of Rajasthan will function as branches of ICICI Bank with effect from August 13, 2010,” the RBI said.

ICICI Bank was waiting for this approval. The merger has already received approval of shareholders.

With this acquisition, the branch network of ICICI Bank will see a 25% rise, taking the count to about 2500 pan India. Also, the bank will gain better access and visibility in the northern and western parts of the country.

“I am happy [with the RBI decision]. The synergies will start from tomorrow and integration will be completed this month,” said Pravin Tayal, the promoter of the Bank of Rajasthan.

The merger would be taking the turnover of ICICI Bank to above Rs4,00,000 crore.

This is the third acquisition by ICICI.

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Different Types of Credit Insurance for Credit Cards

Aug 14, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

Credit card insurance can cost anywhere from $20 to $40 per month, and is used to insure a variety of purchase types and card balances. Most experts agree that credit insurance is absolutely necessary for some individuals and completely useless for others, so it is important to be certain there are no hidden credit insurance fees being charged unnecessarily each month.

Who Needs Credit Card Insurance

The main purpose of credit card insurance is to cover the necessary repayments in the event of injury, unemployment, or other circumstances that may prevent cardholders from paying their credit card bills. Credit insurance is ideal for people with active professions that require physical labor, freelance workers with inconsistent payment scheduling, or people with health issues which may interfere with their payment schedules.

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Credit Report vs Credit Score

Aug 11, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

All this credit stuff can get pretty complicated.

But two things you should have a handle on are credit reports and credit scores. Each are important in their own right, and both are necessary to assess your overall standing as a consumer.

While the pair certainly overlap, they are two entirely different things.

Credit Reports

A credit report contains a wealth of information about you, including basics like your name, address, social security number, and employment history.

Additionally, your credit report will list your credit history, with information on the types of accounts you’ve got open, how long they’ve been established, what their associated balances are, and if they’re current or derogatory (collections, charge-offs).

Any recent credit inquiries will also show up on a credit report so creditors can determine if you’ve been shopping around for new credit.

While all this information can be very helpful to both consumers and creditors, both parties seem to be most interested in credit scores.

Credit Scores

A credit score is simply a three-digit number between 300-850 (credit score range) for Fico scores, and slightly higher for VantageScore.

Generally, a credit report will contain three credit scores, one for each of the main credit bureaus. These c

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Back to School

Aug 10, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

It’s that time of year again! Back to school shopping is coming on strong as retailers see grabs for clothing, shoes, school supplies and cosmetic. Among consumers with children in preschool through high school, 39% expect to spend more per child on back to school shopping while 41% expect to spend the same this year. With this, the average family of four will spend $550; 39% plan to spend more on back to school shopping this year than in 2009; 63% will have a set budget and virtually all parents; and 94% will look for ways to be resourceful. These findings, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker, also show 34% intend to buy electronics, the most common being laptops(18%) with an average ticket price of $530.

Types of Secured Credit Card

Aug 9, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

Many people that have had bad experiences with conventional credit cards give up all hope of using any kind of credit card in the future. However, there are many types of credit cards available today, all of which have different approval methods and different terms and conditions.

Being approved for a credit card with bad credit is not impossible, but it is slightly more difficult and the options are more scarce. Sometimes, when an individual’s credit score is low enough the only option is to apply for a secured credit card. Secured credit cards are safer for the card issuer because the funds are secured by some form of collateral. While the choices are limited there are several types of secured credit cards too choose from, all of which are outlined within the following information.

Merchant Secured Credit Cards

Some secured credit cards are offered by merchants and retailers in an effort to solicit new customers. T

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How to protect credit card from getting cloned?

Aug 8, 2010 Posted Under: Credit Cards Info

 

The use of plastic money is on a rise these days. The current generation finds it much more comfortable to carry financial transactions using credit or debit cards. Although cashless transactions sound hassle free, their increased usage has also raised the frequency of credit card frauds.

One form of credit card fraud is card cloning or skimming. The fraudster here copies the details of the card of an individual into expired, blank or stolen cards and thus makes a clone of the original card. The cloned card is then used by fraudsters.

The cloning device is easily available and can be purchased by fraudsters by shelling out a mere 30,000 to 50,000 rupees. The device contains a scanner and a software which scans the card and stores its details. The device can store information of as many as 3000 cards.

The fraudsters get details such as card number, name on card and expiry date of the card using the cloning device.

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