TORONTO, ONTARIO, Mar 26, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
As Ontarians wait to see how the Province plans to balance its
budget, a new poll finds that average Canadians are no better than
politicians at managing their spending. A whopping 60.1% of Canadians
are not comfortable with their current level of debt, according to an
independent survey from RateSupermarket.ca, Canada’s largest
impartial rate comparison service. Among the 2,929 respondents from
across the country, the leading cause of debt concern by far (38.8%)
is credit card debt.

“We found that one of the largest contributors to credit card debt
seems to be impulse purchases of small items or food and
entertainment, which, left to accumulate interest, can ultimately
lead to a huge mountain of debt,” said Kelvin Mangaroo, President of
RateSupermarket.ca.

One third of respondents admitted to going into debt over something
that they later regretted; while many cited cars or bad investments
as their largest “debt regret,” the common theme that emerged was
that many have found themselves in financial straits not due to large
lavish purchases, but rather through frequent, mindless spending on
‘wants’ like clothing, restaurants, gifts, and holidays.

“We’re not seeing people overspending on luxury or big-ticket items,”
said Mangaroo. “Rather, it’s a slow and steady pattern of small
purchases combined with smaller credit card payments that are putting
a huge number of Canadians into debt.”

Many of those same people are also in denial: The majority (53%)
believe that they have less debt than the average Canadian (30.7%
believe their debt is average, while only 16.3% believe their debt is
higher than average). When specifically asked about credit card debt,
the number of those believing their debt was below average jumped to
60.8%. Only 13% believe their credit card debt is above the national
average.

But the dollar amounts would seem to contradict this belief. When
asked about current credit debt levels, over a quarter of
participants (25.5%) indicated they owed over $5,000 to credit cards.
Close to 10% indicated owing over $14,000.

About RateSupermarket.ca (
www.ratesupermarket.ca )

RateSupermarket.ca is the largest impartial rate comparison service
for personal finance products in Canada. Founded in May of 2008,
their easy to use comparison engine provides much needed transparency
to the Canadian financial market and allows visitors to quickly find
the best mortgage rates, savings rates and insurance quotes. Their
new Mortgage Tool App for the iPhone also allows house hunters to
compare mortgage rates using their Smartphone. Over 2M Canadians have
turned to RateSupermarket.ca to save money on their mortgage,
insurance, credit cards and GICs.

Contacts:
Pointman Public Relations
Patrick McCaully
416-855-9427
patrick@pointmanpr.com

Pointman Public Relations
Samantha Goldsilver
647-668-8140
samantha@pointmanpr.com

www.pointmanpr.com

SOURCE: RateSupermarket.ca

mailto:patrick@pointmanpr.com
mailto:samantha@pointmanpr.com

http://www.pointmanpr.com

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

MCLEAN, Va., March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Earning more rewards for every dollar spent was the top reason card holders would be most likely to switch to another rewards credit card over large sign-up bonuses, according to the Capital One

/quotes/zigman/142838/quotes/nls/cof COF
-1.22%

Rewards Barometer. This is a quarterly survey among American consumers focused on how they accumulate and redeem credit card rewards issued by their bank or credit card company.* While a high earn rate is an important rewards feature, complexities around earning these rewards, including special categories which have higher rewards earn rates such as gas or groceries, or spend minimums in order to receive rewards, are impacting the overall experiences of rewards credit card holders. In fact, nearly half of those surveyed reported that if earning rewards were made simpler their experience of earning credit card rewards would improve.

“Rewards card holders should make sure they are getting great rewards value for using their card. They should read the fine print to understand the true value of how much they are earning and, importantly, how easy or hard it will be to actually use those rewards,” said Amy Lenander, Vice President of Rewards Programs at Capital One. “Less fine print typically means bigger rewards and fewer hassles.”

Expiring rewards continues to be a pain point for rewards card holders, with 40 percent of respondents indicating that eliminating expiration dates on rewards would improve their redemption experience. Rewards customers surveyed also indicated that adding the ability to buy anything on a card and get reimbursed for it (29 percent) would help improve their overall experience of redeeming rewards.

Top Redemption

The number one rewards redemption option is cash (45 percent), followed by gift cards and domestic airline tickets (32 percent and 28 percent respectively). In regards to how cash rewards are used, once redeemed more than one-third of consumers prefer to apply their cash rewards to their statement balance (36 percent), ahead of saving cash (24 percent) or spending cash on themselves (18 percent).

Improving Rewards

Currently, only 21 percent of consumers think they are receiving a high value for their credit card rewards. Nearly 60 percent of survey respondents noted that more special deals with retailers would enhance their experience earning rewards, followed by making earning rewards simpler at 45 percent.

Redemption Trends

Consumers’ overall satisfaction with credit card rewards declined in the past three months. Over half (52 percent and 55 percent respectively) of consumers rated the ability to earn rewards quickly and the value of rewards as “very good” or “excellent” in November 2011, dropping in February 2012 (47 percent and 50 percent respectively). Results also indicate that rewards redemption remained relatively consistent in the past 3 months with 45 percent of card holders redeeming their rewards (2011:Q1 43 percent)(2011:Q2 43 percent)(2011:Q3 47 percent)(2011:Q4 42 percent).

Seasonal Findings

Additional findings stemming from the Rewards Barometer this quarter include that:

Rewards card holders are two-to-three times more likely to be taking a trip this spring and summer (42 percent and 64 percent respectively) than for the winter holidays in 2012 (22 percent). Also, of those planning a family vacation this spring, 20 percent have redeemed or plan to redeem rewards for their travel.

Survey respondents who redeem rewards for gift cards redeem most for shopping and dining (49 percent and 27 percent respectively), yet as consumers see reports of gas approaching $5 per gallon in the coming months, only 6 percent currently redeem rewards for gas cards.

Nearly half of rewards card holders indicated they weren’t sure whether or not they were charged foreign transaction fees, which can be up to 3 percent.

For more information about Capital One rewards visit
www.capitalone.com

Survey Methodology This BIGinsight survey was conducted from February 13-16, 2012 among U.S. Adults 18+ who indicated that they currently have a “rewards credit card” – that is, a credit card with a rewards program that is issued by a bank or credit card company. The total sample size for this survey was N=1,045, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. BIGinsight delivers executives timely, consumer-centric insights from multiple sources. As a comprehensive resource of information, BIGinsight represents the voice of the consumer and provides knowledge to marketers regarding consumer views on the economy, personal finance, retail, lifestyle, media and domestic and world issues.
www.BIGinsight.com

About Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation (
www.capitalone.com ) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $128.2 billion in deposits and $206.0 billion in total assets outstanding as of December 31, 2011. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One is committed to driving industry leading rewards by consistently engaging its customers with rich rewards, perks and benefits. The No Hassle Rewards® program from Capital One offers easy ways to earn rewards and a flexible suite of redemption options including travel, cash back, merchandise, gift cards, experiential rewards and more. With No Hassle Rewards, there’s no limit to the amount of rewards a customer can earn and rewards don’t expire.

* Survey conducted among U.S. Adults 18+ who indicated that they currently have a credit card with a rewards program that is issued by a bank or credit card company

Contact: Sukhi Sahni703.720.2390sukhi.sahni@capitalone.com

SOURCE Capital One

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

/quotes/zigman/142838/quotes/nls/cof

Add to portfolio

COF

Capital One Financial Corp.

US

: NYSE Euronx

$
55.74

-0.69
-1.22%

Volume: 7.33M
March 30, 2012 4:03p

P/E Ratio7.93
Dividend Yield0.36%

Market Cap$32.34 billion
Rev. per Employee$579,196

Google Plays paid app conundrum: Its about the credit cards

By Larry Dignan | March 26, 2012, 2:00am PDT

Summary: Amazon and Apple have the commerce relationship with customers already and Google needs to get it quickly.

The day has finally come, folks – registration for Google I/O 2012, which is happening June 27-29 in San Francisco, opens today. If you plan on trying to catch an in, you better be on the ready at 7:00 AM PT on the dot, as this conference usually sell out double-quick. In fact, last years event sold in less than an hour, and we expect the same of this year (if not less).

Entry fees will set you back a cool $900 each, which is double what it was last year. Of course, we expected a price hike this go around, as El Goog decided to make I/O 2012 a three-day event instead of just two. If my math is correct, thats one-third more awesome that ever before.

In order to register, youll have to be signed up for both Google+ and Google Wallet, so if you havent already done so, you better get on that before registration begins. Once you have that knocked out, hit the link below to grab your way in.

If you happen to miss the window of opportunity or the conference sells out faster than normal, dont fret – well be there live, so you can keep it locked on AP for all of the happenings at I/O 2012.

Good luck!

Google I/O 2012 Registration

MANSFIELD — A Mansfield man was caught using credit cards over the weekend belonging to a 48-year-old man who jumped off the West Fourth Street bridge Thursday afternoon.

Russell Hamrick of 116 Grover St. died in a 30-foot plunge from the bridge to Richland BO Bike Trail. Autopsy results are pending, according to the Richland County Coroners Office.

On Saturday, Ontario police issued a summons to Kevin Davis, 20, of 140 Wood St., for using credit cards which were not his during an attempt to buy a $318 TV at the Walmart on Lexington-Springmill Road. Davis was asked to show identification and refused, according to the police report.

Also Saturday, Mansfield police issued Davis a summons for receiving stolen property at the Walmart store at 2485 Possum Run Road. Davis was transported to the Richland County Jail.

On March 20, Mansfield police records show Hamrick called police to report a robbery. Hamrick told police Davis assaulted him and stole his wallet. Mansfield police Det. Frank Parella said Davis had been staying at Hamricks apartment.

On March 9, Mansfield police charged Davis with possession of marijuana in a parking lot in the 100 block of West First Street.

Hamrick was a graduate of Franklin University with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and was a veteran of the Air National Guard.

A memorial service will be at 3 pm Thursday at the Ontario Home of Wappner Funeral Directors, 100 S. Lexington-Springmill Road. Friends may call one hour prior to the service, from 2 to 3 pm, at the funeral home.

Military services conducted by the Richland County Joint Veterans Burial Squad will follow the service.

Barclays contactless bank cards are vulnerable to electronic pickpocketing via NFC-enabled phones, reported Channel 4 News in the UK. In fact millions of Barclays customers are allegedly at risk for having their data stolen without even knowing through readers in new mobile phones. viaForensics helped in the investigation which then led the UK government to urge Barclays to consider recalling up to 13 million credit and debit cards.

Not too long ago, when considering NFC mobile threats on the horizon, we asked what happens when we wave our wallets to pay? In this case with Barclays, Thomas Cannon Director of ViaForensics Ramp;D told Channel 4, All I did was I tap my phone over your wallet and using the wireless reader on the phone I was able to lift out the details from your card, that includes the long card number, the expiry date and your name. None of it was encrypted, it was simply a case of the details coming out through the air.

Some Android smartphones with built-in NFC can read contactless payment cards. viaForensics discovered the degree of data leakage depends upon the card type and issuer. Even if you were to access a Barclays card holders full name, full card number and expiration date, in most cases fraudsters would not be able to use the stolen card data without the security code on the back.

viaForensics reported, Typically this would not be enough information to perform cardholder not present transactions such as those over the Internet or the phone, because retailers require the CVV2 code printed on the back and a valid address. However it was found during the course of the research that there are still major retailers online, selling high value items, that do not require the CVV2 code and accept a bogus address.

One such online retailer which fails in basic security is Amazon. Although viaForensics was able to lift the info via an NFC-enabled smartphone, the next step pointed out a serious vulnerability on Amazon. Channel 4 reported, We created a new user on Amazons website, with a different name and billing and delivery address to the card they scanned, and were able to order and receive products we purchased without any link to the cardholder. Unlike some online retailers, Amazon doesnt require the three digit security code on the back of the card, making it very easy to use for this sort of crime.

Are there other sites with lax security such as Amazon that do not require a CVV2 code and would allow a thief to use your stolen bank card info?

viaForensics Director of Ramp;D Thomas Canon replied, Amazon was found and reported by Channel 4 News as we tend to shy away from publicly identifying actual places where it would be easy to commit fraud. Our job in the piece was essentially to prove that cards can be read by something as innocuous as a mobile phone.

Are there any credit cards in the USA that are vulnerable to this same type of electronic pickpocketing via NFC-enabled phones?

Cannon replied:

We havent tested any recently, but some US cards are known to give up the information, American Express being the most recent example Ive seen. In some cases the US cards do not give up the actual card holder name, instead the name appears as Valued Cardholder, which is the way it should be. However, even without the name, it has been shown that one can program the data to a blank magnetic stripe card and use it to purchase goods with, for example, the Square payment system for mobile phones. I do not believe the magnetic stripe approach would work in the UK due to our payment systems but I havent tried it.

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Manhattan, NY, United States (AHN) Waiters at some of Manhattans top restaurants have been charged with stealing credit card information for a crime ring that used the data to produce fake credit cards and buy luxury goods.

According to prosecutors, waiters at Smith amp; Wollensky, Wolfgangs Steakhouse and other restaurants used small devices called skimmers to secretly obtain customer information from the magnetic strip of credit cards.

The skimmers were then returned to the alleged ringleader, 41-year old Luis Damian Jacas, who encoded the stolen information into fake credit cards. A network of shoppers used the fake credit cards in high-end stores including Chanel, Cartier, Hermes, Burberry, Jimmy Choo and Bloomingdales in Manhattan, Boston, Florida and Chicago.

The fraudulently purchased merchandise was typically sold at 50 percent of the retail price.

At least 50 American Express account holders were affected by the scheme that allegedly began in April last year.

Apart from Jacas, 27 other people are identified in the 172-count indictment. Seven waiters are charged with using skimming machines: Daniel Burns, Kenneth Franquiz, Peter McGuire, Jennifer Morgan, James OConnell, Sasha Scollin and Brian Torrey.

The restaurants targeted by the group included the Capital Grille and JoJo, both in Manhattan, and the Bicycle Club in New Jersey and Mortons in Stamford, Connecticut.

Eric Brahms and his wife Emily Brumfield Brahms were among those charged for being complicit customers and making regular orders to the crime ring despite knowing the goods were fraudulently acquired. According to prosecutors, the couple also acted acted as fences and sold the items online.

The investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance together with the US Secret Service and New York City police is continuing. The charges were announced following the confiscation of $1 million worth of luxury watches and wine while executing search warrants last week. Authorities also seized skimming machines and $1.2 million in cash.

Every day, hardworking New Yorkers find themselves the victims of identity theft It can take often take years to have their credit restored, Vance said in a statement.

However, that perception is often quickly shattered once we leave our shores for Europe and try to pay for something with an American-issued credit card.

Rejected.

Why? Because while American swipe-and-sign credit cards still come with the classic magnetic strip verification system, much of the rest of the world has long moved on to chip-and-pin cards built with microchips. Virtually all of Europe, as well as many countries in Asia and South America, have embraced the chip-and-pin system.

Hence, when traveling, American credit card users find it very difficult to purchase train tickets, pay at highway and bridge toll booths, parking lots, gas stations, and similar situations where only automatic dispensing machines are available.

That giddy feeling that comes along with making a purchase and not seeing any money exchange hands isnt in your head.

When consumers pay with credit cards it creates a feeling of euphoria that obscures the cost associated with the purchase, a new study from the Journal of Consumer Research finds. The report, cited by MSNBC, also found that when consumers buy items with cash they tend to focus more on the downsides of the purchase, including potential product flaws.

According to MSNBC, previous research has shown that people tend to spend more when they use a credit card instead to cash — a phenomenon known as the credit card premium .

Credit card use is widespread across the country. Indeed, as of 2010, US consumers held 609.8 million credit cards, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, cited by Creditcards.com. Thats nearly two for every American.

Many of those cards may be being used illegally, however. A new paper found that despite only 27 percent of the worlds purchases occurring within the the US, the country accounts for 47 percent of global credit card fraud, Business Insider reports.

Americans debt ballooned in the lead up to the financial crisis, with the total revolving debt increasing nearly five-fold in the two decades leading up to 2008.

Since the Great Recession though, American credit card use has become markedly more conservative. By September 2010, American credit card use had already hit an all-time low.