Apple is ending its “buy now, pay later” service barely a yr after its launch
Apple is shutting down its buy now, pay later service, often known as Apple Pay Later, lower than a yr after it launched within the U.S., and can depend on firms that already dominate the industry, corresponding to Affirm and Klarna. This is an acknowledgement from an organization known for its successful products that constructing a financial services business from scratch, as Apple has been doing for several years, is difficult and highly competitive. Launched with much fanfare in March 2023, Apple Pay Later offers iPhone customers the flexibility to separate purchases as much as $1,000 into 4 equal payments, fee- and interest-free. The service was Apple’s answer to the growing popularity of buy now, pay later services world wide. [Associated Press]
Apple is discontinuing its “Buy Now, Pay Later” service
The variety of bank card delinquencies has increased in comparison with last yr, but that isn’t the entire story
Retail sales got here in barely lower than expected yesterday. Consumer spending rose just 0.1% from April to May, one other sign that customers are starting to feel the strain of persistently higher prices. Many consumers have maintained their shopping habits by counting on bank cards, perhaps a bit of an excessive amount of. Economists have been warning for months a couple of rise in bank card delinquencies. Wealthier consumers are paying off their bank cards and paying down debt. Credit card debtwhich improves their rankings. But this lower interest consumer is increasingly falling behind on payments, and that is where we see the local increase in delinquencies. [Marketplace]
Wells Fargo relies on a conspicuous rental bank card. This costs the bank numerous money.
When Charlie Scharf became CEO of Wells Fargo, one in every of his top priorities was to grow the bank’s bank card business. However, a high-profile partnership with Bilt Technologies is reportedly complicating that strategy. In 2022, Wells Fargo launched a bank card with Bilt Technologies, a fintech startup backed by big names like Blackstone and Mastercard. This co-branded card allowed users to pay their rent without landlord fees and earn rewards points, leading to over one million accounts activated inside 18 months, predominantly by young adults. Despite its popularity, the cardboard is costing Wells Fargo as much as $10 million a month, in keeping with a report, as internal forecasts of cardholder behavior proved inaccurate. [The Wall Street Journal]
I’m a web based gambler. Pennsylvania state lawmakers are right to ban the usage of bank cards to finance betting.
My father was a compulsive gambler. I’m a gambler and have occasionally used a bank card to open a web based gambling account in Pennsylvania. State Senator Wayne Fontana desires to stop me or anyone else from doing that. And he’s right. The longtime congressman from suburban Pittsburgh recently introduced Senate Bill 1159, which goals to cut back a number of the worst financial harms of gambling addiction. It would ban bank cards as a method of depositing money into accounts at any of Pennsylvania’s many online casinos or sportsbooks. Credit cards would also not be an option for securing accounts used to play the state’s iLottery by phone or computer. Fontana doesn’t need to take away anyone’s right to bet legally. But he does want gamblers to only have the opportunity to make use of money they have already got, corresponding to debit cards, bank transfers or PayPal. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Proposed agreement on Visa and Mastercard swipe fees prone to be rejected
A federal judge said she is unlikely to approve a proposed settlement in a long-running legal battle by which Visa, Mastercard and major U.S. bank card issuers limit competition through the fees merchants pay to simply accept bank cards. Visa and Mastercard each said they were dissatisfied and still thought the proposed pact was solution. The settlement reached in March would have ended a battle between the cardboard networks and banks with merchants which were suing them for nearly twenty years. But the terms were criticized by lawyers for major merchants and trade groups, who vowed to overturn the deal. [The Wall Street Journal]
Court rules that lawsuit over US regulation on late payment fees for bank cards must remain in Texas
The CFPB suffered a legal setback Tuesday in a legal challenge to its recent rule capping late payment fees on bank cards at $8. A federal appeals court had ruled that the case should stay in Texas reasonably than be sent to a judge in Washington, D.C. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a victory for business and banking groups that had challenged a key a part of President Joe Biden’s administration’s crackdown on “junk fees.” [Reuters]
Google Ads stops accepting card payments
Google is telling some advertisers that they need to refrain from paying for Google Ads by credit or debit card until July thirty first or face account suspension. This move is an element of Google’s efforts to maneuver high-spending advertisers to more automated payment methods which might be higher suited to scaling promoting investments. Affected advertisers will likely be restricted to using bank-based payment options going forward: monthly invoicing (Google’s advisable approach) with 30-day payment windows, or direct debit for automatic payments, where available. [Search Engine Land]
Male consumers are probably the most common buyers of gift cards
For the primary time, male consumers are the first purchasers of gift cards within the U.S., in keeping with a Blackhawk Network research report on gift cards and U.S. consumer gifting preferences. The study also highlights the opportunities presented by on a regular basis gifts for retailers and the way an industry-wide shift toward more sustainable gifts is resonating with consumers. While men and girls are similar by way of the kinds of gift cards they plan to purchase in the subsequent yr (e.g., single-brand vs. multi-brand cards), men are likely to buy more gift cards for electronics and video game retailers than women, who said they buy more cards for private care and sweetness products than men. Purchasing gift cards has also shifted from a standard last-minute gift to a planned purchase: 71% of consumers surveyed say they plan their gift card purchases. [Retail Customer Experience]
Biometrics overcomes the bounds of non-public payment innovations: Mastercard
Mastercard can be rolling out features that can allow consumers so as to add payment cards to their digital wallet by tapping it on their very own smartphone. Merchants can add the faucet of a card to a phone that accommodates a digital wallet as an extra layer of authentication. Payments using biometrics as a substitute of phone or card are also on Mastercard’s roadmap. The company wants to provide consumers the selection of how they register their payment method of their biometrics. In addition to physical biometric modalities corresponding to palm and face, behavioral biometrics are also a part of Mastercard’s plan. [Biometric Update]
For bank cards, a smaller state is healthier
One such policy being pushed within the U.S. Senate is a bill that will create a bank card requirement. A version of this bill was passed in 2010 and applied to debit cards. The consequences for users were: lack of debit rewards points, lack of access to free checking accounts, and a few even lost their local bank. Studies have shown that applying this idea to bank cards wouldn’t only cost $5 billion, nevertheless it would also expand the federal government’s role in bank card processing. And as you and I do know, when the federal government’s role is expanded, it’s taxpayers who foot the bill. [Winchester News Gazette]
0% introductory rate of interest for bank cards: The benefits and drawbacks and what lenders are betting on
Why are banks and credit unions still offering 0%? Well, likelihood is you are underestimating how quickly you possibly can repay that debt, and you will be back to being hit with high bank card rates of interest. Lenders typically get a fee for a balance transfer, and so they lure customers away from the competition. Anyone betting that their bank card rates will drop significantly in about six months once the Fed starts cutting rates will likely be sorely dissatisfied. Even if the primary rate cut is available in September (and a few say it won’t come until December), rates will steadily decline from here on out, not crash. Looking for an introductory 0% rate might actually make sense in case you’re going to stop spending and check out to repay as much of the bank card debt as possible in lower than a yr or two. [Detroit Free Press]
