| Cap One Bids for Debit Card Share with an ACH-Based Card
(June 7, 2007) A new Capital One Financial Corp. MasterCard debit card that Cap One can market nationwide like a credit card has the potential to vault the financial-services company into the top ranks of debit card issuers and help MasterCard Worldwide swipe debit market share from Visa USA, the payments expert who this week released word of the product says. The rewards debit card, which McLean, Va.-based Cap One is cobranding with merchants, is not linked to any accounts held by Cap One or Hibernia Bank, a bank Cap One acquired two years ago. Instead, the financial-services company, which made its name as an innovative credit card marketer, will issue the card to consumers across the country and then debit their checking accounts through the automated clearing house. By severing the historical tie between debit cards and demand-deposit accounts, Cap One can market the card to virtually anyone with a checking account.
Romancing the credit-card holder
At one hearing in March, Wesley Wannemacher told lawmakers how he went over the $3,000 credit limit on his new Chase credit card in 2001, spending $3,200 to pay for his wedding. Evidently, the charges weren't paid off promptly, and his debt began to pile up. In all, Mr. Wannemacher, of Lima, Ohio, racked up fees and interest charges of $7,500, including 47 over-the-limit fees. And "if they hadn't reviewed my account, I would have paid another $6,110 on a $3,200 debt," he stated. The reaction to his story was swift: At the hearing, Chase announced it would end over-the-limit fees on accounts that exceeded their credit limit for more than 90 days. Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next Page .
American Express launches Caribbean promotion
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: American Express announced the launch of a new promotion in the Caribbean region at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Conference (CHTC), held at the Hyatt Regency Miami, Florida, June. The meeting was presented by the Caribbean Hotel Association and American Express. Dubbed "Live. Taste. Explore," the program creates a distinctive and dynamic "destination experience" for American Express Cardmembers through unique merchant offers and experiences. "We want to bring a genuine enhanced experience and have chosen offerings carefully to include true values and activities that appeal to the traveler’s senses," said Dianelys Rodríguez, VP Destination Business Development, Establishment Services International, American Express. The campaign also benefits the local economy in participating destinations by stimulating the expenditures of visitors and promoting increased business; these in turn boost the economic well-being of workers, local entrepreneurs, professionals, service providers, and other economic sectors.
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