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CARDNEWS FOR CONSUMERS
(9/30/03) Card Delinquency Credit card delinquencies, based on total dollars outstanding, edged up slightly to 4.51% during the second quarter, and remain well above last year's second quarter delinquencies of 4.08%. However, the number of past-due credit card accounts fell slightly to 4.04%, compared to a record high of 4.07% in the first quarter. -(READ MORE)	(9/29/03) Do Not Call on Hold The new "National Do Not Call Registry" will most likely not go into effect this Wednesday as expected, despite the best efforts of the Federal Trade Commission and Congress. However, consumers can continue to register their phone numbers in the database even though telemarketers are not required to comply with it. -(READ MORE)
(9/26/03) Car Card A small credit card firm has launched a big promotion to reward cardholders. Arizona-based Eufora is offering brand new $30,000 cars to its 100,000 "Eufora MasterCard" cardholders in a monthly sweepstakes. Under the program, cardholders receive one automatic entry into the sweepstakes for every $100 they spend in a month. -(READ MORE)	(9/24/03) Best Student Cards More than half of Americans prefer that college students use prepaid payment cards instead of debit cards or credit cards. Only 14% of consumers believe credit cards are best suited for students, while 34% favor debit cards. -(READ MORE)
(9/23/03) Pizza Card The first gift card to be issued by a national pizza delivery restaurant company was launched this week. Pizza Hut rolled-out the new prepaid card at more than 5,200 participating locations in the USA. The card can be loaded for any value up to $100. -(READ MORE)	(9/22/03) Hip Hop Card Hip-hop music mogul Russell Simmons, and his hip-hop socialite wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, have teamed to roll-out a prepaid VISA card. The new pink "Baby Phat Prepaid Rush VISA" offers rebates of up to 10% off merchandise at Baby Phat Fashion stores. -(READ MORE)
(9/19/03) Sharebuilder VISA The first online brokerage to offer a VISA card with cash rewards that are deposited directly into customers' accounts for automatic reinvestment has been launched. ShareBuilder Securities Corporation and Bank One have teamed to launch the "ShareBuilder Platinum VISA" which offers one point for every dollar of credit card purchases. -(READ MORE)	(9/18/03) Mortgage Cards Ever wonder why there are so few banks offering credit cards linked to home equity loans? A new study shows that consumers are generally not motivated to use them and that banks are concerned about the risks associated with issuing cards carrying very high credit limits. -(READ MORE)
(9/17/03) Mid-Year Card Activity Credit card volume in the USA is currently growing by 4.8%, with American Express leading the charge with a 10.1% annual growth rate. The level of activity on credit cards matches the increase in overall U.S. consumer spending. -(READ MORE)	(9/16/03) Card Race In terms of cards issued, VISA has picked up a slight lead again in the U.S. credit card horse race, after falling behind MasterCard for three consecutive quarters. However, based on the number of domestic credit card accounts, MasterCard has widened its lead to 15 million accounts after first surpassing VISA in 3Q/02. -(READ MORE)
(9/12/03) Debit Hologram Identifying a debit card from a credit card will get easier next year for U.S. merchants, as MasterCard adds a new hologram to its debit card. Under the requirements of the recent Wal-Mart debit card lawsuit settlement to make its debit cards "clear and conspicuous," MasterCard this week unveiled a new debit card identifier. -(READ MORE)	(9/11/03) Harris Biz Cards Chicago-based Harris Bank has introduced two new credit cards and has launched "Harris details Online" for its business customers. Harris is now offering the "Business Rewards MasterCard" and the "No Annual Fee Card." -(READ MORE)
(9/10/03) Card Mail Credit card mail volume continues to decline for the fourth straight quarter, dropping nearly 20% from one year ago, even though response rates have edged up slightly. The latest figures also show a 25% decrease in May mail volume compared to April, and in June, mail volume was down by 4.5% compared to May. -(READ MORE)	(9/9/03) Debt Rebound America's appetite for credit card debt returned during July after a one month decline. Consumers added a mere $300 million to total revolving debt during July, compared to a $1.9 billion increase one year ago. -(READ MORE)
(9/8/03) Check Cards U.S. Bank has launched four debit card reward programs that it projects will generate more than $30 million in cash rewards to customers by the end of 2004. U.S. Bank is now offering the "Cash Bonus VISA Check Card," "VISA Extras for Check Card," "WorldPerks VISA Check Card," and the "Harley-Davidson VISA Check Card." -(READ MORE)	(9/4/03) Do-Not-Call The "National Do Not Call Registry" now contains more than 48 million U.S. telephone numbers. More than six million consumers added their telephone numbers over the past holiday weekend. The first edition closed August 31st and it became available to telemarketers this week. -(READ MORE)
(9/2/03) Hot States Nevada remains the fastest growing state for credit card activity with an annual growth rate of 13% versus a national average of 9% for last year. Bank credit card balances, excluding retail credit cards, averaged $7,875 per Nevada household versus a national average of $6,276 for 2002. -(READ MORE)