| Postal Service Feels Weight Of 'Junk Mail'
The souring economy and changing lifestyles are dramatically affecting one of the most dependable institutions in American life: the U.S. Postal Service. Troubled banks are mailing fewer credit card offers. Declining new-home sales mean vacant houses sitting with empty mailboxes. And as consumers switch to paying bills online, first-class mailings are drying up. .
A very wide loophole for unsolicited cards
"I have never shopped at Wal-Mart, have never owned a Discover Card, and have never requested a Discover Card," Molldrem said. "I get credit card offers multiple times a week, and I usually just throw them in the trash without reviewing them carefully. This one looked like a typical credit card offer, but my husband opened it up while I was out of town and to his shock, it contained a fully functional card." Tossing a fully functional card out could expose the couple, Molldrem said, to anyone picking through the trash and activating the card. Wondering how the company could get her name and why it would expose people to security risks, Molldrem said the couple called the customer service number given on the back of the card. Molldrem said she was told that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Shift4 Offers Merchants Options to Achieve PCI Compliance
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Merchants facing deadlines to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) and protect against credit card data theft have a secure and cost-effective alternative to investing in new point-of-sale and data storage systems. Shift4 Corporation (http://www.shift4.com/) offers a payment processing system that integrates with existing systems and is certified to be in compliance with all Card Association regulations and recognized by Visa USA as compliant with PCI DSS. $$$ ON THE NET(R) (Dollars on the Net) provides authorizations and settlements for credit, debit, check, private-label and gift card transactions. This system is based on Tokenization technology -- developed and publicly released by Shift4 in 2005 -- that provides a greater level of security by removing all usable personal card data from the entire transaction process, including point-of-sale devices.
Eleanor Trickett
Two pieces of research came out last week that attempted to quantify some of the impact the credit crunch has had on the direct marketing world. Synovate's Mail Monitor subsidiary cited a 14% year-on-year decrease in credit card direct mail volume in Q4 2007. And Mintel Comperemedia brings in a more nuanced point that the annual decrease in credit card solicitations to non-customers from 2006 to 2007 is 11%, but loyalty-based offers sent to current customers actually increased by 16%. .
Standard Chartered unveils new card
Dubai: Standard Chartered on Monday launched a business credit card in the UAE primarily targeted at the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment. The 'Gold Business Credit Card', co-branded with Singapore Airlines, offers business-centric benefits such as automatic membership to KrisFlyer - the loyalty programme of Singapore Airlines, the flexibility to convert business rewards from the credit card to KrisFlyer miles, preferential rates and offers from leading international hotels and discounts on office supplies, equipment and courier services. "Our Business Credit Card is aligned with our ongoing drive to deliver first-class services to all our valued customers above and beyond their stated needs," said Chris De Bruin, head of consumer banking chartered for the UAE.
Cashback: Consumer nirvana or con?
With less than eight weeks to go until Christmas, credit card companies are enticing customers with cashback offers promising attractive rates of money back on spending. American Express is the latest to launch a cashback deal. It is offering new credit card customers 5% back on all purchases made in the first three months, and between 0.5% and 1.5% after that, depending on how much they spend. Michelle Slade of analyst Moneyfacts says: "For someone spending £1,000 a month over a year, the new American Express deal would yield a £247.50 return in the first year. That's an impressive return for just going about your day-to-day spending." Many mobile phone retailers also offer deals where they will in some cases offer several hundred pounds worth of money back.
Heartland Payment Systems buys majority stake in Collective Point of ...
PRINCETON, N.J. - Heartland Payment Systems Inc., which offers payroll and debit and credit card processing services, said Tuesday it bought a majority stake in Canada's Collective Point of Sale Solutions Ltd. Terms of the deal for the payment processing and secure point-of-sale services company were not disclosed. Heartland said it does not expect the purchase of a controlling stake in Collective, which has about 5,000 Canadian customers, to have "a material impact" on the New Jersey's company 2008 revenues or net income. Shares of Heartland fell 6 cents to $21.95 in afternoon trading. .
Costly Credit-Card Tricks
So be sure to watch your credit report carefully and make all payments on time to avoid a domino effect on your other lines of credit. 2. Offering "Fixed" Rates That Aren't Really Fixed
You might think that when someone offers you a fixed-rate card, the rate is indeed fixed. But you'd be wrong. A fixed-rate card simply means that the company needs to inform you in writing at least 15 days before changing its rate. So pay attention to the notices that come with your bill. And if you carry a balance, always be aware of the interest rate you're paying. If it goes up, it may be time to shop for a better card. 3. Penalizing Customers Whose Payments Are Five Minutes Late
Have you looked carefully at your credit-card statements lately? These days, not only are payments due by a certain date they're often due by a certain time, like, say, 1:00 p.m.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Art Deco Tours of Miami Beach: The Art Deco Welcome Center of the Miami Design Preservation League, located on Ocean Drive and 10th Street, offers three tour options: self-guided tours using iPod rentals, $15 ($10 for seniors and students); cell phone tours, $10 (dial 786-312-1229 and charge to a credit card); and guided tours, $20 (seniors and students, $15). Morning guided tours leave at 10:30 on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; night tours at 6:30 Thursdays.
The tour stops vary depending on the tour and the guide.
Miami Design Preservation League: www.mdpl.org or 305-672-2014. .
Community National Bank Hires Branch Manager, VP/Corporate Controller ...
GREAT NECK, N.Y. - (Business Wire) Community National Bank (CNB) (stock symbol CBNY, OTCBB), Long Island’s fastest growing commercial community bank, recently hired Branch Manager, Alba Spinelli, VP/Corporate Controller, Jay McConie, and SVP/Senior Loan Officer, Conrad Gunther, Jr., for CNB’s corporate office in Great Neck, NY. A Branch Manager, Ms. Spinelli is responsible for managing the day to day operations of the branch as well as business development and customer service. Previously, she worked as Branch Manager at the State Bank of New Jersey and as a Private Banker at the U.S. Trust. Vice President and Corporate Controller, Jay McConie is responsible for day to day management of accounting/ treasury functions, management and regulatory reporting, compilation of annual reports, managing accounting issues and relationships with internal and external auditors.
The Breakdown of Wall Street Alchemy
The investments at issue are so-called auction-rate securities, instruments at the center of the latest squeeze in the credit markets. Goldman, Lehman, Merrill Lynch and other banks have been telling investors the market for these securities is frozen -- and so is their cash. The banks typically pitch these securities to corporations and wealthy individuals as safe alternatives to cash... The bonds are, in fact, long-term securities. But the banks hold weekly or monthly auctions to set the interest rates and give holders the option of selling the securities. Only this week almost 1,000 of these auctions failed. The banks also refused to support the auctions, leaving many investors wondering when they will get their money back. 'Investors have lost confidence in the liquidity of these instruments,' said G.
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