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Why do some credit cards stop being offered?
Posted on March 10th, 2010 No commentsSome credit cards can stop being advertised and stop appearing on the top of credit card best buy tables, but still be maintained with a client base. This is what happened with Australia’s first credit card, the Bankcard.
If this happens it is usually a sign that the card is being put into what is sometimes called “run-down” or “cash cow” mode. In business terms this is when a product maximizes its revenues but minimizes its costs. It is not unique to credit cards. Read the rest of this entry »
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Shuffling credit cards to lower debt
Posted on March 9th, 2010 No commentsIt is possible to drastically cut the cost of credit card interest before getting new cards to consolidation loans.
One of the most common reasons for looking at the interest rate costs of credit cards is that they are looking to get control of their credit card debt. The discipline of shuffling debt is a good start on the path of reducing credit card debt. Read the rest of this entry »
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What did consumer do for credit before credit cards?
Posted on March 8th, 2010 No commentsThere is a myth about credit cards, and that is that before credit cards almost everyone saved before buying any item, and the very idea of most people borrowing to fund their living costs was unknown. This myth is simply not true; credit cards grew up in an environment where credit was becoming more common.
There is some truth in the myth that people tended to borrow less, particularly when spending on consumption. In a time of stable money and low wage growth there was no logical reason to buy to consume. Read the rest of this entry »
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What is pattern recognition?
Posted on March 5th, 2010 No commentsPattern recognition is a fraud prevention technique that is used increasingly by credit card companies. It is often the reason why credit card users will get phoned up by their credit card provider asking them whether they really did make a couple of large purchases.
Pattern recognition is simply analysis of a large number of credit card transactions. It comes in two forms, firstly pattern recognition searches for positive signs that the card is being used fraudulently and it then looks for differences in the way the card is being used from its normal pattern.
Read the rest of this entry »