Harassing phone calls. Credit report errors. Payday loan company employees showing up at a customer’s workplace demanding money. These are just some of the more troubling findings in a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was set up in the wake of the financial meltdown to police financial products and services.… Continue reading Consumer Financial Protection Report: Mishandling Credit Report Errors, Hassling Consumers and More
Visa Attacks Prepaid Fee Confusion
It’s getting harder and harder for prepaid card issuers to be sneaky about their fees. Earlier this year the Pew Charitable Trusts issued a report detailing the lack of uniformity when it comes to prepaid fee disclosures and proposed a model disclosure box to make it easy for consumers to compare the fees associated with… Continue reading Visa Attacks Prepaid Fee Confusion
American Express -Sponsored Movie Spent Premieres
Life outside the financial mainstream is getting the Hollywood treatment. On June 4th, the American Express-sponsored documentary, Spent: Looking for Change, which profiles the challenges and frustrations of those Americans who lack traditional bank accounts and credit cards, premiered in Los Angeles and online. Executive produced by Davis Guggenheim, who won an Academy Award for… Continue reading American Express -Sponsored Movie Spent Premieres
JPMorgan Launches Financial Solutions Lab
American Express just got a little competition in its efforts to appeal to those living outside the financial mainstream. On May 29th, banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that it has committed to invest $30 million to create the Financial Solutions Lab. A collaboration with the Center for Financial Services Innovation, the new Financial… Continue reading JPMorgan Launches Financial Solutions Lab
Which Plastic Is the Best? Debit Cards, Credit Cards or Prepaid Cards?
Long gone are the days when credit cards were the only choice for people in need of plastic. Here are some other options: Imagine walking into a restaurant and being told that a menu is not needed because there’s only one dish being served. From time to time that happens — set price, or prix… Continue reading Which Plastic Is the Best? Debit Cards, Credit Cards or Prepaid Cards?
Accenture survey: Banks Face Big Threat
The Accenture survey, which was based on feedback from around 4,000 retail banking customers in the US and Canada, found that evolving technologies and changing consumer attitudes pose real dilemmas to traditional banks. Accenture found that although almost 40 percent of US customers have been with their current bank for a decade or more, a host of factors shows that now is not the time for banks to assume their customers aren’t looking for better options.