Secured credit cards help build credit, with some caveats

Jun 11, 2019
Amazon Credit Builder will offer secured credit lines to those without strong credit who put down a security deposit to borrow against.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

What the U.S. means when it says it wants more access to China's markets

Jun 11, 2019
Since the Tiananmen protests in 1989, China has allowed citizens more economic freedoms, which have benefited a lot of American brands, but there are still sectors they are heavily restricted in.
A sign directing customers to queue at the entrance of a Starbucks Roastery in Shanghai in early 2018, a few months after it opened.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

Credit card delinquency rates have been rising — especially for young people

May 17, 2019
Oh, and the interest on that outstanding debt? It's getting more expensive.

Can credit card companies sustain their rewards programs?

Apr 19, 2019
American Express recently reported quarterly earnings, showing that its single-biggest expense was credit card rewards.
magnez2/Getty Images

An Apple-Goldman credit card could help both titans

Feb 21, 2019
A report in the Wall Street Journal Thursday said Apple is about to launch a new credit card with Goldman Sachs. The move comes as Apple is trying to diversify its revenue sources away from iPhones, which have been struggling around the world. For Goldman, the reported partnership could be the bank’s latest attempt to […]

How can mobile payments in China be greater than GDP?

Jan 22, 2019
Some listeners balked when we reported $23 trillion in mobile payments there in 2016.
Mobile payments made through third-party providers like Alipay bring China's total mobile payment transactions in 2016 to around $38 trillion.
Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

Going cashless in Shanghai

Jan 15, 2019
Chinese mobile payment apps have surged in popularity. Could U.S. credit card companies compete?
A driver pays a highway toll using mobile payment method Alipay in Zhejiang province.
STR/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Expanding economy has consumers feeling flush enough to keep borrowing

Jan 9, 2019
The Federal Reserve reports that outstanding consumer credit rose by $22 billion dollars in November, after an even bigger rise in October. That puts U.S. consumers on track to increase their total debt on credit cards, student-loans and car-loans by 6-3/4 percent this year. How might that record-high consumer debt impact the U.S. economy?  Click the […]

Capital One, Discover scale back credit card offerings

Nov 5, 2018
Companies trim credit limits, balance transfers to limit risk in case of slowdown.
Financial expert Carmen Wong Ulrich says credit cards aren't bad --  until you start looking at them as free cash.
iStockphoto

Credit card interest rates are rising

Oct 9, 2018
The average rate is just over 17 percent, and it's expected to keep going up.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images