The Rich Really Struggle With Card Debt; Beware Of Malware At Gas Pumps

Visa Warns of POS Malware Incidents at Gas Pumps Across North America

Visa says North American merchants who operate gas stations and gas pumps are facing a rash of attacks from cybercrime groups wanting to deploy point-of-sale malware on their networks. The payments processor said cybercrime groups carried out attacks with the main purpose of gaining access to fuel dispenser merchants' networks, where they installed POS malware. [ZD Net]

Here's Which Generation Is Maxing Out Their Credit Cards the Most

Maxing out your credit cards is an overwhelmingly bad idea. One generation is more guilty of falling victim to that trap than others. If you're thinking millennials, think again. While it's true that 50.3% of younger Americans have, indeed, maxed out their credit limits, the dubious distinction of maxing out the most goes to none other than Gen Xers, with 58.8% hitting their credit limits at one point or another. By contrast, only 39.3% of baby boomers have maxed out their credit cards. [The Motley Fool]

Fake Star Wars Streaming Sites Steal Credit Cards From Fans

Attackers are actively exploiting the hype around the new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie as a bait designed to lure potential victims on fake streaming sites and steal their credit card data. Kaspersky researchers found over 30 fraudulent websites and social media profiles disguised as official movie accounts (the actual number of these sites may be much higher) that supposedly distribute free copies of the latest film in the franchise. [Bleeping Computer]

PayPal Sues U.S. Regulator Over Prepaid-Card Rule

PayPal sued a federal banking regulator Wednesday, alleging that its new rule has hampered the company's ability to offer credit products and has created confusion among users of its popular digital-payment services PayPal and Venmo. The lawsuit challenges the regulation on prepaid accounts rolled out by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in April. While the rule's primary aim is to improve consumer protection for prepaid payment cards, it also extends to "digital wallets," any financial products capable of holding cash balances directly on cards or electronic devices. [The Wall Street Journal]

American Express Cuts Travel Accident, Other Card Benefits

American Express has cut travel accident insurance and a handful of other benefits from many of its credit cards. Cardholders who have these perks, which also include roadside assistance, return protection and extended warranty coverage, can use them through Dec. 31. Here's more about the changes on the horizon. [US News]

PayPal Completes GoPay Acquisition, Allowing the Payments Platform to Enter China

PayPal announced it has completed its acquisition of a 70% equity stake in GoPay, making PayPal the first foreign payment platform to provide online payment services in China. GoPay has licenses for both online and mobile transactions, and mainly provides payment products for industries including e-commerce, cross-border commerce, tourism and others. Similar to PayPal, GoPay allows merchants to accept payments on their websites when customers are shopping online. [Tech Crunch]

The Case For Contactless: Why Americans Will Tap-To-Pay In 2020

The first attempt at broad-scale issuance of contactless cards in the US was fought and lost more than a decade ago. Limited merchant acceptance, high issuance costs and tepid consumer adoption were all strong indictors that the initial US foray for tap-to-pay was simply too early. Today, these inhibitors have diminished, and unlike last time, a real market opportunity for contactless cards has become apparent. [Forbes]

Earn an Easy $10 Credit with Your Contactless Citi Card

Contactless cards went through a major growth period in 2019. Most recently, Citi joined the trend of offering contactless, and rewarding cardholders for using it. Citi sent credit card holders a round of emails, offering a $10 back as a statement credit when you make three contactless purchases at participating U.S. Panera Bread, Target, and CVS Pharmacy locations. The qualifying contactless purchases must total at least $10 each and be made by Jan. 31, 2020. [The Points Guy]

AI Is Biased. Here's How Scientists Are Trying to Fix It

Computers have learned to see the world more clearly in recent years, thanks to some impressive leaps in artificial intelligence. But you might be surprised—and upset—to know what these AI algorithms really think of you. As a recent experiment demonstrated, the best AI vision system might see a picture of your face and spit out a racial slur, a gender stereotype, or a term that impugns your good character. Now the scientists who helped teach machines to see have removed some of the human prejudice lurking in the data they used during the lessons. [Wired]

Green Dot Stock Is Sinking After a Shake-Up. It's a Sign of Venmo and Square's Dominance

Green Dot's founder and CEO, Steve Streit, along with its CFO, announced they will step down. Green Dot's core business of prepaid debit cards has been under significant pressure from services such as PayPal's Venmo and Square's Cash app. While many people think of those services as aimed at millennials, each has a core user base of unbanked and underbanked consumers, exactly the target customer of Green Dot's prepaid cards. [Barron's]

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Struggling with Credit Card Debt? Wealthy Americans and Gen Xers Are, Too

A six-figure net worth may come with some strings attached. About 46% of U.S. adults with a net worth of at least $100,000 are more likely to have credit card debt, compared with 40% of those who have a negative net worth, according to a new Bankrate survey. Three culprits are to blame, experts say, ranging from lifestyle creep, which refers to a rise in spending as wages increase, better access to credit and lack of liquidity. [USA Today]

Visa Warns of POS Malware Incidents at Gas Pumps Across North America

Visa says North American merchants who operate gas stations and gas pumps are facing a rash of attacks from cybercrime groups wanting to deploy point-of-sale malware on their networks. The payments processor said cybercrime groups carried out attacks with the main purpose of gaining access to fuel dispenser merchants' networks, where they installed POS malware. [ZD Net]

Here's Which Generation Is Maxing Out Their Credit Cards the Most

Maxing out your credit cards is an overwhelmingly bad idea. One generation is more guilty of falling victim to that trap than others. If you're thinking millennials, think again. While it's true that 50.3% of younger Americans have, indeed, maxed out their credit limits, the dubious distinction of maxing out the most goes to none other than Gen Xers, with 58.8% hitting their credit limits at one point or another. By contrast, only 39.3% of baby boomers have maxed out their credit cards. [The Motley Fool]

Fake Star Wars Streaming Sites Steal Credit Cards From Fans

Attackers are actively exploiting the hype around the new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie as a bait designed to lure potential victims on fake streaming sites and steal their credit card data. Kaspersky researchers found over 30 fraudulent websites and social media profiles disguised as official movie accounts (the actual number of these sites may be much higher) that supposedly distribute free copies of the latest film in the franchise. [Bleeping Computer]

PayPal Sues U.S. Regulator Over Prepaid-Card Rule

PayPal sued a federal banking regulator Wednesday, alleging that its new rule has hampered the company's ability to offer credit products and has created confusion among users of its popular digital-payment services PayPal and Venmo. The lawsuit challenges the regulation on prepaid accounts rolled out by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in April. While the rule's primary aim is to improve consumer protection for prepaid payment cards, it also extends to "digital wallets," any financial products capable of holding cash balances directly on cards or electronic devices. [The Wall Street Journal]

American Express Cuts Travel Accident, Other Card Benefits

American Express has cut travel accident insurance and a handful of other benefits from many of its credit cards. Cardholders who have these perks, which also include roadside assistance, return protection and extended warranty coverage, can use them through Dec. 31. Here's more about the changes on the horizon. [US News]

PayPal Completes GoPay Acquisition, Allowing the Payments Platform to Enter China

PayPal announced it has completed its acquisition of a 70% equity stake in GoPay, making PayPal the first foreign payment platform to provide online payment services in China. GoPay has licenses for both online and mobile transactions, and mainly provides payment products for industries including e-commerce, cross-border commerce, tourism and others. Similar to PayPal, GoPay allows merchants to accept payments on their websites when customers are shopping online. [Tech Crunch]

The Case For Contactless: Why Americans Will Tap-To-Pay In 2020

The first attempt at broad-scale issuance of contactless cards in the US was fought and lost more than a decade ago. Limited merchant acceptance, high issuance costs and tepid consumer adoption were all strong indictors that the initial US foray for tap-to-pay was simply too early. Today, these inhibitors have diminished, and unlike last time, a real market opportunity for contactless cards has become apparent. [Forbes]

Earn an Easy $10 Credit with Your Contactless Citi Card

Contactless cards went through a major growth period in 2019. Most recently, Citi joined the trend of offering contactless, and rewarding cardholders for using it. Citi sent credit card holders a round of emails, offering a $10 back as a statement credit when you make three contactless purchases at participating U.S. Panera Bread, Target, and CVS Pharmacy locations. The qualifying contactless purchases must total at least $10 each and be made by Jan. 31, 2020. [The Points Guy]

AI Is Biased. Here's How Scientists Are Trying to Fix It

Computers have learned to see the world more clearly in recent years, thanks to some impressive leaps in artificial intelligence. But you might be surprised—and upset—to know what these AI algorithms really think of you. As a recent experiment demonstrated, the best AI vision system might see a picture of your face and spit out a racial slur, a gender stereotype, or a term that impugns your good character. Now the scientists who helped teach machines to see have removed some of the human prejudice lurking in the data they used during the lessons. [Wired]

Green Dot Stock Is Sinking After a Shake-Up. It's a Sign of Venmo and Square's Dominance

Green Dot's founder and CEO, Steve Streit, along with its CFO, announced they will step down. Green Dot's core business of prepaid debit cards has been under significant pressure from services such as PayPal's Venmo and Square's Cash app. While many people think of those services as aimed at millennials, each has a core user base of unbanked and underbanked consumers, exactly the target customer of Green Dot's prepaid cards. [Barron's]

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