JPMorgan, Citigroup Expect More Credit Card Users to Default
Banks have enjoyed years of declining losses from fewer consumers defaulting on debts. They appear to be preparing for a turn. Shares of JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup fell after the banks boosted their reserves for consumer-loan losses by the most in more than four years. Both lenders set aside money in the third quarter because they expected write-offs on credit cards to climb in periods ahead, with Citigroup saying the increase is coming faster than it had anticipated. [Bloomberg]
Google Is Essentially Building An Anti-Amazon Alliance, And Target Is The Latest To Join
Google and the country's biggest retailers have one problem in common: Amazon. Both sides are acting like they are serious about working together to do something about it. Target and Google announced they are expanding what was a years-old delivery partnership from a small experiment in a handful of cities to the entire continental U.S. The expansion will allow Target to become a retail partner in Google's voice-shopping initiative, which lets owners of the Google Home "smart" speaker order items through voice commands like owners of the Echo can do from Amazon. The announcement comes seven weeks after Walmart inked a similar deal with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of products through the service. [Recode]
Citigroup Hasn't Played Its (Credit) Cards Right
Citi all but gave up on its credit card business in 2009. But it realized that was a mistake. In 2015, the bank began investing in the division again, going after the branded business of retailers. Its biggest move came last year when it undercut American Express and took over Costco's card business. Citi executives have warned that the expansion would boost costs and losses for a time. But they have repeatedly said that investors would see an improvement starting in the second half of 2017. In the third quarter, at least, the payoff wasn't evident. Credit card loans were up just 1% from the quarter before. And credit card losses were up 36%, to $611 million, from a year ago. [Bloomberg]
Amazon Is Making It Easier For Teens To Use Their Parents' Credit Cards
Amazon is already the most popular online retailer among adults, and it’s setting its sights on a new demographic: teenagers. The company's newest efforts are aimed at getting these shoppers to purchase items on its site with approval from their parents. Teens can now log into Amazon using their own accounts to buy items and stream videos. Their parents can approve their purchases by text message or set spending limits per order. Analysts say the teenage market could be particularly lucrative for Amazon. [The Washington Post]
Cash Is Disappearing From These Cities Around The World (But Not The U.S.)
Shoppers in big U.S. cities are clinging to cash and not embracing digital payment systems as fast as consumers in international cities. The most "digitally mature" cities were those with a prevalence of mobile payments, online banking access, ATMs, the ability to receive government benefits digitally, and plenty of shoppers using of plastic debit and credit cards. They include Stockholm, Auckland, Canberra, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Ottawa, Sydney and Toronto. Usage of credit and debit cards has grown in the U.S., but many consumers still prefer cash. Only about 20% of North American consumers make purchases with mobile payments regularly. [MarketWatch]
Walmart Unveils Mobile Returns Process for Online Orders
Walmart is changing the way customers return online orders. Starting in November, the store will allow shoppers to process returns through the Walmart app and skip the long customer service lines. To use Mobile Express Returns, a customer will launch the Walmart app on their Apple or Android mobile device. Then, they simply select a transaction and the items from the transaction they want to return. This information will be sent to the store of the customer's choosing. The service desk will have a new Mobile Express Lane for customers using this service. The customer can go through that line and scan the QR code provided on the card reader. Once the item is handed to the store associate, the refund will be processed. [LowCards.com]
JPMorgan Says Customers Are Sticking With Sapphire Reserve Card
JPMorgan Chase said more customers are sticking with its Sapphire Reserve card than the bank initially expected, a year after it debuted with a sign-up bonus worth a whopping $1,500 in travel perks. Attrition rates on the card, which carries a $450 annual fee, are lower than the bank anticipated and the results are "encouraging.” Spending on all Chase credit cards jumped 13% from a year earlier, and card revenue rose 3% to $1.24 billion. [Bloomberg]
Citi-Costco Partnership Shows Its Strength In Costco's Earnings Report
When Amex owned the Costco co-brand portfolio, it was strong, posting $80 billion in billed business in its last full year. But it's doing even better, and seems to be growing more quickly, with the new Citi card. That's likely in part due to the card's strong rewards proposition: cash-back offerings go as high as 4% for standard purchases, which is higher than those under Amex. But it could also be due to Visa's wide acceptance network, which beats out Amex in the United States, and could make it easier for users to turn to the product more regularly. The scaling success of the Costco portfolio could be a lesson in how subtle changes that simplify and incentivize usage could make a big difference. [Business Insider]
You Can Now Take Out Cash With Your Smartphone At Some Wells Fargo ATMs
Wells Fargo has upgraded more than 5,000 ATMs with new technology that allows customers to access their accounts--and take out cash--with a smartphone instead of a debit card. The ATMs have a new near-field communications (NFC) module that allows customers to tap a phone configured with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Android Pay instead of swiping or inserting a debit card into the machine. Wells Fargo said that customers will still need to enter their PIN into the machine in order to take out money. The feature gives consumers more of a reason to leave their debit and credit cards at home. [CNBC]
Hyatt Hotels Discovers Card Data Breach At 41 Properties
Hyatt Hotels said it had discovered unauthorized access to payment card information at certain Hyatt-managed locations worldwide between March 18 and July 2, 2017. Hyatt said the incident affected payment card information, such as, cardholder name, card number, expiration date and internal verification code, from cards manually entered or swiped at the front desk of certain Hyatt-managed locations. A total of 41 properties may have been affected in 11 countries, with China accounting for 18 properties. Seven Hyatt properties were affected at U.S. locations, including three in Hawaii, three in Puerto Rico and one in Guam. [Reuters]
UK Banks Plan Biggest Squeeze On Consumer Credit Since 2008
British banks are planning the biggest squeeze on consumer credit since late 2008, when the economy was in the depths of recession. The clampdown follows warnings that Britain's debt mountain has risen to dangerous levels as households struggle with rising shop prices and low wage growth. [The Guardian]
LowCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report
Based on the 1,000+ cards in the LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index, the average advertised APR for credit cards is 15.39%, identical to last week. Six months ago, the average was 15.25%. One year ago, the average was 14.61%. [LowCards.com]
Provided by LowCards.com
