5 Credit Card Trends for 2010
The Obama Administration has cracked down on credit card companies and has forced them to make several changes to protect the consumers. The credit card companies however has several tricks up their sleeves to pass on to the consumers. Here are 5 that I recently read in a SmartMoney article. Be aware of what the credit card companies have planned for 2010 so that you are not caught off guard.
Here is the article from SmartMoney (January 12, 2010).
The Future of Plastic: 5 Credit Trends for 2010
If 2009 was the year of hammering out credit-card reform, 2010 will be the year consumers feel the effects of those changes.
The CARD Act goes into effect on Feb. 22 and with it come stronger consumer protections. Banks will no longer be able to raise interest rates during the first 12 months after opening an account – or hike rates on pre-existing balances altogether. Credit-card payments, if exceeding the minimum, will be allocated to the higher-rate balances first. Monthly statements will become easier to understand and the ability to issue credit cards to college students will be severely restricted. (For a more detailed outline of the new rules, click here.)
But these new safeguards will come at a price. Although card issuers focused last year on making sure they’ll be in compliance with the new law, now they will have to figure out how to make money given the changes in their business, says Dennis Moroney, a research director at financial-services research group TowerGroup. This “will be the year of transition for the banks,” he says.
Consumers have already gotten a hint of what’s to come. As soon as President Obama signed the CARD Act into law last year, banks sprung into action, hiking interest rates across the board and switching their APR formulas from fixed to variable rates. They’ve already found loopholes in the new law, including a creative way of charging a penalty APR as soon as a payment is one day late and continuing to implement the soon-to-be prohibited practice of double-cycle billing.
Here’s what else consumers can expect from their credit-card issuers in 2010.
1. Punishing inactivity
Using your credit cards wisely used to mean keeping your balances low relative to your available credit, and locking your cards in a drawer was deemed smart. Today, the wise use of credit entails something entirely different: making sure those cards don’t stay in the drawer for too long.
As card issuers face growing restrictions in an economic environment that remains challenging, this year they will place an even stronger focus on inactive accounts, reducing credit limits, introducing inactivity fees or closing them altogether, says Robert Hammer, the chief executive officer of R. K. Hammer, a bank-card advisory firm. Why? Inactive accounts are a losing proposition for card issuers: They’re not making any money off you from interest payments or interchange fees, but they have to spend money on printing and mailing you things like account notifications or statements. More importantly, such accounts leave them open to the risk that you will lose your job, max out the card and leave the bank holding the bag.
To keep all your accounts active, Hammer recommends rotating your different cards each month.
2. Looking beyond credit scores
Just a few years ago, the main factors in determining your credit-card interest rate and credit limit were your credit score and payment history. Now, issuers take a lot more into account when evaluating their existing and prospective card holders’ risk profiles. For example, living in an area with high unemployment or working in an industry where job security is volatile can prompt an issuer to reduce your credit limit or introduce an annual fee to your account, even if your credit and payment histories are spotless, says David Robertson, owner of the Nilson Report, which tracks credit-card industry trends. “Six issuers control 80% of the market,” he says. “They use very sophisticated programs and are able to slice and dice their portfolio in many ways.” That said, using sophisticated analytics may cut both ways. Issuers may become more lenient in their lending decisions with consumers who have only recently seen their credit hurt by the loss of a job or home. “Joblessness took down a lot of people who were good, solidly middle-class, good-score customers,” Robertson says. “The question will be, when this person gets a job again, will he return to their profile of an honest, trustworthy customer, but with a lower credit score?”
3. Chasing after college parents
College students used to be among card issuers’ most sought-after customers. They tend to charge beyond their limited means and stay loyal to the first bank with which they do business. What will happen once the CARD Act prohibits them from marketing on campus and restricts their ability to issue cards to anyone under the age of 21? Rather than offering free T-shirts or digital music players to college students, banks will start campaigning to their parents. This year, parents can expect to receive more offers of co-signing a child’s credit card, and many of them will likely tout “parental control” features like the ability to monitor and limit spending. If you’re a college parent, make sure you are aware of the consequences and risks of co-signing a credit card. You will be liable for any unpaid balance and, in the event of a late payment or other negative account activity, a stain on your own credit record.
4. Reinventing secured credit cards
Secured credit cards fell out of favor years ago, when banks started targeting low- or no-credit consumers with so-called subprime credit cards, which were loaded with fees and high interest rates. But with the CARD Act restricting the amount of fees a bank can charge relative to the available credit limit, subprime cards will all but disappear. Millions of consumers have seen their credit damaged by bankruptcy or foreclosure and will need a new way to start rebuilding their credit. One way subprime issuers will continue targeting that demographic will be to look back to secured credit cards, says Odysseas Papadimitriou, the chief executive of Evolution Finance Inc., which publishes CardHub.com, a credit-card comparison web site.
A secured credit card works just like any other card, but it requires the consumer to make a security deposit (usually a minimum of $200 or $300), which then equals their credit limit. Do not confuse these cards with prepaid or debit cards, however: While the bank will keep your deposit (and in some cases even pay you interest on it), you still have to make at least minimum payments to be in good standing, or pay the balance in full to avoid paying interest. Card activity is reported to the three major credit bureaus. For more on secured cards and other products targeting credit-impaired consumers, click here.
5. Introducing debit-card fees
Mindful of their budgets and frustrated with the plethora of fees associated with credit cards, many consumers are turning to debit. They may soon be disappointed to find out that fees are making their way into debit cards, as well, says TowerGroup’s Moroney. “Debit cards are a very thin-margin product. And with the changes in overdraft fees, the banks are going to start charging annual and other types of fees,” he says.
The cards most likely to be subject to an annual fee are debit cards that have rewards programs. Another possibility: the introduction of fees for using your PIN at the point of sale. That’s because banks charge merchants more for signature-based purchases. (Some retailers – including Costco (COST: 58.79, +0.07, +0.11%) – now allow signing for debit purchases. As the battle between retailers and issuers heats up, others may soon follow.) If you are among the growing number of consumers who are shunning their credit cards and turning to debit, make sure you are familiar with your issuer’s PIN and signature policies.
