The Financial Obligations Ratio (FOR) and the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) for the third quarter (3Q/16) edged upward, but continue to hover at near record lows. According to the Federal Reserve, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the FOR slipped upward to 15.44% in 3Q/16, compared to 15.43% in 2Q/16 and 15.39% in 3Q/15. The DSR…
U.S. credit card outstandings end-of-period (EOP) among the Top 4 U.S. issuers gained 9.1% in the third quarter (3Q/16) year-on-year (YOY) to $394.5 billion. The gain was driven largely by Citibank as its acquisition of the Costco card portfolio from American Express has skyrocketed outstandings. BofA was unseated as the nation’s second largest in the second…
There has been a significant change in consumer behavior in the global casino gaming market. The increase in the popularity of gambling apps and social gambling are the major factors expected to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period. Vendors are leveraging the growth in internet using population and increasing adoption of…
A new survey reveals numerous areas where Commercial Card providers can both educate and better serve their end-user clients. Solutions available today address top areas of concern such as control and security related to all product types. Solutions including automated compliance monitoring and mobile alerts are not yet commonly adopted by end-users but could address…
ME-based, WEX, a provider of corporate payment solutions, has ankled David Cooper for the newly created role of chief technology officer. The role was created to lead all aspects of corporate technology. In this position, Cooper will spearhead corporate IT and platform strategy, enterprise architecture, program management, information security, and IT infrastructure operations. “David brings…
TSYS confirmed the retirement of William Pruett as Senior Executive Vice President and President of TSYS’ North America Services segment, effective April 1st. A 40-year veteran of TSYS, Pruett started his career in the merchant area at Columbus Bank and Trust in 1976, and in 2011 assumed leadership of TSYS’ largest reporting segment. Under his…
Four out of five small businesses have a positive outlook and expect 2017 to be a good time to borrow funds to invest in their businesses. Nearly all have some type of business account with a financial institution including eight out of ten who have a business credit or charge card. Mercator Advisory Group fielded…
Credit One Bank, one of the nation’s top sub-prime credit card issuers, broke ground on its new headquarters in Las Vegas. Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2017, the new headquarters can accommodate up to 500 new jobs, including technical, analytical and marketing positions. Credit One Bank offers a range of full spectrum…
China Everbright Bank is now deploying U Plan, the cross-border marketing service platform launched by UnionPay International. From now on, customers may get exclusive U Plan coupons via the mobile app of CEB credit cards. Shopping at merchants outside mainland China, customers are able to enjoy the highest discount available by presenting the coupon and…
Expend, a FinTech startup is taking on the hassle of filing business expenses with a new payment card. Using the card instantly creates an expense claim that is ready to be synced with accounting platforms. Instead of hoarding receipts and spending hours filling in expense claims, users can get it all done on the fly…
A deadline delay of three years for gas pumps to be equipped with chip-card readers means the battle against credit card skimmers will be extended for weights and measures officials who are cooperating in the effort to spot them. The original deadline of October 2017 has been delayed by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. to…
The best consumer spending analysis, based on actual consumer transactions rather than surveys or speculation, for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday shows overall spending growth was up 9.0% year-over-year (YOY), compared to 9.4% in 2015 and 3.5% in 2014. The First Data SpendTrend also showed the total share of eCommerce spending has gone up…