EU-DIGEST

Credit card companies continue rip-off of consumers - Obama to Congress: Send Me the Credit Card Reform Bill

President Obama today called on Congress to pass a credit card reform bill so he can sign it into law by Memorial Day. “The abuses in our credit card industry have only multiplied in the midst of this recession, when Americans can least afford to bear an extra burden,” President Obama said in his weekly address. “It is past time for rules that are fair and transparent. That is why I have called for a set of new principles to reform our credit card industry. Instead of an ‘anything goes’ approach, we need strong and reliable protections for consumers.” The president highlighted abuses in the credit card industry -- including Americans getting ripped off by sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties, hidden fees and fine print that all too often hides the truth.

Labels: Abuses, Credit Card Industry, Credit Cards

Europe: Credit Card Fraud Ring Funnels Data From Cards to Pakistan - by Siobhan Gorman

European law-enforcement officials uncovered a highly sophisticated credit-card fraud ring that funnels account data to Pakistan from hundreds of grocery-store card machines across Europe, according to U.S. intelligence officials and other people familiar with the case. Specialists say the theft technology is the most advanced they have seen, and a person close to British law enforcement said it has affected big retailers including a British unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tesco Ltd. The account data have been used to make repeated bank withdrawals and Internet purchases, such as airline tickets, in several countries including the U.S. Investigators haven't pinpointed the culprits. Early estimates of the losses range of $50 million to $100 million, but the figure could grow, said the person close to British law enforcement.

Labels: Credit Cards, Europe, Fraud

US Economic Meltdown - Credit card crises now looming in America: - by Danny Bubp Ohio State Representative

"Credit card companies have dozens of reasons, I should call them excuses, for raising our interest rates. I have read that these large banks have formulas for their computers to automatically raise rates when they can determine that a family is trapped in a debt too large to handle. Some of these large banks are as bad as loan sharks. When the banks' computers detect that a consumer is near the maximum on his card and is only making the minimum payment, the rates are raised. Why would credit card companies push someone who is already in trouble into deeper trouble? Because they can. These large banks are now protecting themselves just like they did with the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. They are transferring their risk on bad credit card loans to insurance companies. We could very easily find ourselves in another national financial crisis. And this crisis would be handed to the taxpayers, just like the mortgage crisis was. However, the gigantic banks that control most of our banking systems are only interested in short-term profits and are working against the long-term health of the US economy."

Labels: Banking system, Credit Cards, US Economy

An ailing America awaits Bush's successor - by Robert L. Jamieson Jr.

Whichever candidate eventually wins the White House faces a world of woe, courtesy of a Bush administration that can't exit stage right fast enough. Leftover trouble will come at the next president -- "at 100 miles per hour, like a cannonball to the chest," said Congressman Jim McDermott of Seattle, who made the rounds in town last week.On Jan. 20, 2009, the fresh quest begins -- a new president's push to cure America on its sickbed.

Labels: Banking system, Credit Cards, Economy, US

For the complete report from the www.bbj.hu click on this link

EU - Credit card use on the rise in CEE

A report reveals that the number of credit cards in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) more than tripled in the two year period up to the end of 2006. Credit card holders in CEE numbered 27 million in 2006. The total number of payment cards (including debit, charge and credit cards) has grown by 64% to 187 million in 2004-2006.

According to the report, debit cards are the most widely held type of payment card in the region, representing 83% of all cards in issue against 52% in Western Europe. However, debit cards share of the market has decreased from 90% in 2004 to 83% by the end of 2006. This was caused by the increase in credit card, which more than tripled between 2004 and 2006, reaching 15% of total cards in the region. In all 13 markets, the number of credit cards grew from 8 million to 27 million between 2004 and 2006.

Poland, Russia and the Ukraine account for about two thirds of these cards and for much of the new growth over this period. The report says there are on average 74 payment cards per 100 adults in CEE, compared to 203 in Western Europe.

Labels: CEE, Credit Cards, Eastern Europe, Economy, EU

PayPal customers in Europe number near 35 million

PayPal, the online payments unit of auction website eBay Inc. (EBAY.O), said on Tuesday it has nearly 35 million customer accounts in Europe, about a quarter of all its accounts. In 2006, PayPal processed 6.3 billion euro of payments in Europe, representing around 22 percent of its worldwide total of euro 28.41 billion.

According to Forrester Research, 23 percent of European online shoppers prefer PayPal to paying with credit cards or other payment methods.

Labels: Credit Cards, Customers, Europe, Paypal