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Will Credit Card Companies Cash in on Couponless Geo-Location Targeting
Dec 16th
Will Credit Card Companies Cash in on Couponless Geo-Location Targeting
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
I checked into my office on Foursquare the other day and I got a message showing there was a special offer. I thought, that’s odd, I didn’t create a special offer.
When I clicked on the offer is was a special from American Express telling me that if I used my American Express card to buy $10 worth of something I would get a matching $10 credit from American Express.
At first I was confused, but then I saw that a number of restaurants listed around my business also had the same offer. Apparently American Express had struck up a deal with Foursquare (and as it turns out any number geo-locations services) to offer specials directly through Foursquare at locations that accepted American Express (data that American Express would obviously have)
This program has been developing since a June roll out, but it appears Amex has really ramped it up to every imaginable category of business.
As I thought about this a number of things came to mind, but the most important one was that a credit card company had essentially taken over a geo-location service.
Now, I’m not suggesting that’s a bad thing. (For the record, American Express is a client and I happen to think very highly of the folks at the OPEN business unit.)
I am suggesting, it’s an interesting turn of events and here’s why:
- Merchants benefit without having to do anything, but of course, accept the Amex card.
- Shoppers benefit without having to do much more than check in and sync their card
- Foursquare benefits because all of a sudden it’s worth $10 to check in at a lot of places
The full benefit to Amex is evident only to those that know the numbers, but my guess is that this is a cheaper and way more directly targeted way to get to a user than paying for TV. Plus, when someone checks is on Foursquare when out with a bunch of friends and announces they just got $10 off, I’m guessing some non Amex toting friends take note. This play also positions Amex squarely at the front of the hip line and will likely help remove some of the stodginess that they’ve been shedding for a few years now.
This combination of location, mobile, commerce and local business to reach the end user is quite possibly the digital media story of the year.
View full post on Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
Turn your card hobby into a business
Oct 17th
How to make money with card making
Turn your card hobby into a business
5 Ways Credit Card Companies Screw You Over
Sep 10th
Over the past one or two years, several new credit card laws have been enacted to protect the consumer from exploitation at the hands of the banks. But guess what? This does not mean that credit card providers are going to sit back and play nice with you and your rights. In fact, in some ways just the opposite has happened. Instead, banks are looking (and finding) for new and ever more sneaky ways to trick customers and screw them over. Are we being too harsh on the banks? Not really! After all, they have been and will continue to rip off consumers on a regular basis (the last few years are a prime example of their inscrutable business acumen).
So if you suspect that not all is well between you and your credit card provider, here are five ways you could be getting screwed over. And even if you aren’t, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t still be on the lookout for these all too common scams!
Say Goodbye to your Account
As crazy as it sounds, more banks than ever before are closing accounts, in many cases without much notice. In short, this could put you in a precarious position. Imagine getting ready to make a purchase, just to find that your card has been cancelled. Not only would this stop you from spending the money, but it can be quite embarrassing if you are standing in the checkout aisle at a brick and mortar store. It can be even more annoying (and potentially damaging) if you’ve got automatic payments scheduled on that card.
Fees, Fees, and More Fees
If you thought you were done getting screwed over on fees from your credit card company, then you are unfortunately wrong because this practice is more common today than ever before. Although you will receive notice that this is happening, it does not make it right.
From traditional fees to those for “inactivity and low activity”, you never know when you are going to get hit with something you were not expecting. The idea of being charged for not using a card is just ludicrous!
Rewards on the Way Out
There used to be a time when one of the main reasons to carry a credit card was the reward program where you earn points for every dollar spent. Soon enough, your points could be turned into free flights, accommodation or something smaller, such as a toaster oven.
As of late, more and more credit card issuers are changing reward programs – and not for the better. Changes are meant to keep you from using your points such as increasing the threshold for free flights or decreasing the amount of cash back you can receive. Just this last week in the UK, Airmiles, a very popular rewards program for free flights, changed its terms so members had to pay taxes and charges on flights redeemed with their points.
Rate Manipulation
If you never carry a balance on your credit card you may not think twice about a rate change. However, this can be a huge deal if you ever decide to carry a balance from one month to the next. As you can imagine, this is very common.
Many card issuers have been or are in the process of converting fixed rates to variable rates. Along with this, the change is very common when the index rate is low and likely to increase in the future.
Did you know that some companies are also adding so-called “rate floors?” This means that rates can only go up, not down. How fair is that to the consumer? In this case, the word variable is not all that it seems to be.
Annual Fees – Still a Rip-off
Most people agree that there is nothing worse than paying a credit card annual fee. This has been a problem in the past, and continues to negatively impact consumers in today’s day and age. At this time, approximately 25% of cards have an annual fee. But credit card companies are not stopping there – this number is set to increase to more than 40 percent.
Already have an annual fee on your card? You aren’t out of the woods. At any time, your credit card issuer could decide to increase this fee.
This is a guest post from Andy at Finance Choices, a UK based comparison website where you can read independent reviews of credit cards. For more posts like this one, check out their blog.
View full post on Business Pundit
Tarot Card Reading Secrets
Jul 23rd
Complete guide to reading Tarot Cards, and Tarot Card meanings. Only Tarot program to offer Video training included with the course. Great paying commission per sale. Selling courses with Video for this low of a price means better conversions.
Tarot Card Reading Secrets
CARD Act Protects Consumer Credit Cards – But Could Hurt Business Users
Jul 4th
The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which took effect in late February, is good news for consumers who use credit cards, but could be bad news for small business owners, SMSmallBiz reports.
The CARD act affects only consumer, not business, credit cards. But like consumers, in the past few years business owners have been hit by rising interest rates and fees on their business credit cards. They’ve also been struggling with rising costs for accepting credit and debit cards. Interchange fees–the fees charged by credit-card issuers to merchants whenever a credit or debit transaction takes place–increased from between 1.25 percent and 1.91 percent in 1991 to between 0.95% and 2.95 percent in 2009, according to a recent report on credit cards by the Government Accountability Office.
Not only have business owners gained no relief from interchange fees, they’re also likely to be hit with even higher fees, rising interest rates and more confusing billing tactics. “There is a whole revenue stream that has been shut off to credit-card issuers [by the CARD Act],” Molly Brogan, spokeswoman for the National Small Business Association in Washington, DC, told SMSmallBiz. “They may look to small businesses to make up that revenue.”
If you’re considering using your personal credit cards for business reasons to gain the protections of the CARD Act, don’t. Gerri Detweiler, small business credit adviser with educational website Credit.com, cautions that combining personal and business expenses on a personal card can hurt your credit score, prevent you from deducting interest and annual fees as a business expense, and even put your corporate structure at risk.
At least one source is hoping business credit card users might benefit from the CARD Act. Nessa E. Feddis, vice president and senior counsel for the American Bankers Association in Washington, DC, told SMSmallBiz that some of the benefits of the CARD Act–such as consistent billing periods and allocation of payments–might get applied to business credit card users as well. “When a computer-oriented change is required, for example,” she explains, “it may be easier and more efficient to apply the same rule [to all users].”
CARD Act Protects Consumer Credit Cards – But Could Hurt Business Users
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
50 Card Making Sketches
Jun 30th
Discover the Secret to Making Cards You Absolutely Adore Easily and Effortlessly Every Time – 50% commission.
50 Card Making Sketches
Greeting Card Making for Profit
May 27th
Easy to promote! Step by step manual on how to turn your greating card passion into a thriving business. This program contains strategies for making money from card making and all the information you’ll ever need to help you make money from your craft.
Greeting Card Making for Profit
Credit Card Companies Woo Small Businesses—But Will Entrepreneurs Say Yes?
Feb 2nd
What financing methods have you been using to grow your business and keep cash flowing during the recession? As the economy improves again, credit card issuers are hoping more small business owners will turn to credit cards as a cash management tool.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that entrepreneurs can expect to see more credit card offers in their mailboxes in the coming months. Why? Because the 2009 legislation that reformed credit card policies put a lot of restrictions on the kinds of rates and penalties card issuers can charge consumers. Business credit cards, however, were excluded from many of these protections. That means card issuers can charge us higher interest rates and make a bigger profit.
But while card issuers are hoping to attract more small business owners, entrepreneurs are a bit gun-shy about taking on new credit cards. There are several reasons for this. First, business credit card rates rose faster than rates for other types of cards in 2010, according to data from IndexCreditCards.com. Second, the rates can increase drastically if a business owner makes a late payment. And unlike consumers, business cardholders aren’t eligible for relief from penalty rates if they make future payments on time. That means one late payment can lead to a permanent increase.
Adding to the problem, card issuers, on their end, have been burned by small businesses that failed or couldn’t pay their balances, and now have tighter qualifications for issuing credit cards in the first place. This means even some business owners who want new business credit cards can’t get them.
These factors have made it harder for small business owners to use credit cards as they traditionally have: as a startup financing or expansion tool. Charging a sizable amount, then paying it off slowly, is too risky now. Instead, business owners the Times spoke to generally pay off their cards in full each month. While this offers convenience (credit cards are still a great cash management tool), it limits your ability to use the card for financing substantial investments in the business.
As a result, while credit card companies may be wooing small businesses, the use of credit cards by small business owners is declining. According to the National Small Business Association, nearly half of all small businesses used to rely on credit cards for financing, but in the past year, that percentage has declined to just over one-third. In the same time period, credit cards have dropped from first to third place on the list of most commonly used sources of small business financing.
Does that sound right to you? Are you using cards more or less in your business? If you get an offer for a new card, are you likely to jump at it…or toss it in the circular file?
Credit Card Companies Woo Small Businesses—But Will Entrepreneurs Say Yes?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Protect Your Business From Credit Card Fraud This Season
Dec 8th
Image: The Truth About Credit Cards/Flickr
This is a guest post by Fee Fighters’ Stella Fayman.
The holiday season is the best time of the year for opportunistic retailers. Unfortunately, it is also the most wonderful time of the year for people specializing in fraud. Luckily, there are some easy ways to protect your business, whether brick and mortar, from credit card fraud:
Nip the fraudsters in the bud- Take preventative measures such as having customers sign receipt and checking signatures on the back of each and every card. Ecommerce merchants should always use an Address Verification Service (AVS) and have customers enter the 3 digit security code on the back of each card (called the CVV). More helpful tips can be found in this comprehensive article.
Be patient- As the holidays near, tensions run high as popular items are high in demand and low in supply. Maintaining a level of excellence in customer service will make sure customers don’t get belligerent and make your life more difficult (think chargebacks).
Be prepared- Make sure to know the policies and procedures around chargebacks—when a customer disputes a charge on his/her credit card. Reach out to your merchant account provider before one occurs, and then use that information to develop a stand policy in your business about who handles and how to handle chargebacks.
FeeFighters.com is the comparison shopping site for credit card processors. FeeFighters lets business owners compare top quality processors on an apples-to-apples basis, similar to using Priceline for travel. If you have any questions, feel free to email Stella at stella (AT) feefighters (DOT) com.
View full post on Business Pundit
No Credit CARD Act Protections for Small Businesses, Federal Reserve Board Says
Oct 14th
If you and other small-business owners were hoping that the U.S. Federal government might give business credit cards the same kind of protections as consumers get, well you can “forget it” according to a recent report issued by the Federal Reserve Board (PDF).
The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which took effect earlier this year, aims to give consumers who use credit cards some relief from excessive fees and fines.
Like consumers, business owners have been hit by rising interest rates and fees on their business credit cards. Beyond the problems faced by consumers, small-business owners are also hit with rising interchange fees (the costs card issuers charge businesses for accepting credit and debit cards).
Despite these burdens, BusinessWeek reports, the Federal Reserve Board declared that giving small businesses the same credit card protections consumers have would not be worth the potential for higher costs and reduced credit.
What’s the rationale? The report notes that since small businesses generally have higher credit lines than do consumers, banks have a harder time assessing the risks of extending small businesses credit. If banks’ ability to raise interest rates were to be limited, banks would likely protect themselves by restricting access to credit even more and charging higher initial interest rates, both of which would ultimately harm small-business credit-card users.
Bank lobbyists, not surprisingly, supported the Fed’s recommendation.
Would restricting banks’ ability to raise rates really hurt business credit-card use? Bank of America already announced in April it would extend the same protections included in the CARD Act to its small-business credit card users.
Small business credit cards account for only 15 percent of credit card spending, according to research firm Mercator Advisory Group. Data from the Fed report show that, rather than using credit cards as a “credit line,” most small businesses pay off their cards in full every month.
However, the Fed’s report indicates there is some cause for alarm: The share of business owners that carry a monthly balance on small business credit cards has more than doubled between 1998 and 2009, from 5.9 percent to 12.3 percent. Given the Fed’s recommendations, those card users shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon.
No Credit CARD Act Protections for Small Businesses, Federal Reserve Board Says
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
