“We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be serving as a global card issuing partner for Uber, helping to provide critical financial infrastructure for its global expansion. Although we’ve already been supporting the global growth of Uber Eats, we’ll be serving as Uber’s card issuing partner for future projects as well. Uber will be using our modern card issuing technology to support its ecosystem of apps, which have more than 100 million monthly global users. With our platform, Uber will be able to issue physical, virtual, or tokenized cards while significantly reducing time to market.”

“Consumers are spending money as if the coronavirus recession is over. But they are also paying down old debts and avoiding new ones in case the pandemic lasts a while. That is the discordant picture of the U.S. economy that emerged from third-quarter earnings reports from some of the country’s largest credit-card issuers. Capital One Financial Corp. , Discover Financial Services and Synchrony Financial reported last week that, starting in September, the volume of purchases made by their customers increased from the relevant period a year earlier, a first since the coronavirus forced swaths of businesses to close their doors in March and a severe recession took hold. The buying continued well after laid-off workers stopped receiving $600 a week in extra unemployment benefits at the end of July.”

“A fissure is forming in the U.S. credit card industry: Are consumers about to go bankrupt or bounce back? On one side, risk-management pioneer Capital One Financial Corp. is reining in credit lines to reduce its exposure. On the other, the nation’s largest card issuer, JPMorgan Chase & Co. , is rolling out a new card designed for travelers and diners — the ultimate countercyclical bet. Those moves are just the tip of a debate unfolding inside the industry as Congress deadlocks over extending $600 weekly checks to millions of unemployed Americans. In some corners, worries are mounting that households will struggle to make ends meet, max out their credit and default. But some banks see an opportunity to attract people who are still doing fine.”

“Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, today announced that TSYS, its Issuer Solutions business, has renewed its agreement with Wells Fargo, the fourth largest bank in the U.S. As part of the multi-year agreement, TSYS will continue to provide a range of processing and support services for the bank’s commercial card portfolio. Wells Fargo has utilized TSYS’ payments processing platform since 1995.”

“i2c Inc. , a leading provider of digital payment and open banking technology today announced an expansion of its business in both North and South America as demand continued to accelerate for its innovative solutions. i2c has signed 17 new clients across the Americas since the beginning of the year representing both commercial banks and FinTechs who are serving the needs of consumers and businesses with credit and debit programs that meet the needs of an increasingly on-demand, digital world.”

“Not only has COVID-19 led to a dramatic dip in the stock market, but the coronavirus pandemic has also resulted in both temporary and permanent layoffs . According to a survey by WalletHub, 67 million Americans anticipate difficulties paying their credit card bills because of the coronavirus. Fortunately, most major credit card issuers are responding by offering assistance to their customers. Goldman Sachs, which issues the Apple Card, is allowing customers to skip their March payments (and, now, their April payments ) without accruing any interest fees. American Express and Capital One are following suit with similar programs for eligible cardholders.”

“Card issuers are scrambling to respond, with many tweaking refund policies along the way. Customers say they have had to wait hours on the phone to talk to customer-service representatives. Card issuers have been lenient with refunding customers who can no longer travel because they have personally contracted coronavirus. But many customers simply don’t want to travel as the virus spreads, both out of health concerns and because many of the places they planned to visit are closed.”

“Distribution channels are getting saturated across the internet and beyond, and in many tech sectors the cost of acquiring new customers is crimping profitability. But so far, so good in the “great credit card craze,” as Alex digs into this week for Extra Crunch . It turns out that the remaining revenue possibilities combined with the current revenues from interchange fees mean costs are staying relatively flat — or so say a few well-placed execs.”

“Americans have accumulated near-record levels of credit card debt over the past year as card companies have increased interest rates and fees. The booming market is helping drive record banking industry profits but could become increasingly costly for consumers who don’t pay off their bill every month or miss a payment, industry experts say.”

“The market for credit cards is crowded, but PayPal PYPL, +0.57% and Synchrony expect that consumers will see value and differentiation in their offering due to a focus on the back-end user interface. Venmo cardholders will be able to deal with all aspects of their cards from within the Venmo app, providing a “native in-app experience” for users who are used to checking that app on a routine basis, according to Synchrony Chief Executive Margaret Keane. PayPal Senior Vice President of Credit Darrell Esch declined to reveal the distinct features of the card or app ahead of the official launch next year, though the company’s release said that cardholders “will receive real-time alerts and can interact in new ways including splitting and sharing purchases.””

“PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL ) and Synchrony (NYSE: SYF ) today announced an expansion and extension of their strategic consumer credit relationship. As part of their expanded partnership, Synchrony will become the exclusive issuer of a Venmo co-branded consumer credit card in the U.S., which is expected to launch in the second half of 2020. PayPal and Synchrony also announced an extension of their overall consumer credit program relationship.”

“Marcus launched without a collections team to chase down delinquent borrowers, resulting in early loan losses, people familiar with the matter said. A credit card developed with Apple Inc. was a coup, but a costly one: Thousands of engineers across Goldman were diverted to finish it in time for an August debut, delaying other projects. Apple ads for the card carried the phrase: “Designed by Apple, not a bank”—a line that didn’t appear in a giant banner ad in Goldman’s lobby this fall.”

“With the official launch of the Apple Card , Goldman Sachs is embarking on a multi-decade journey to becoming a leader in consumer banking just as it has been in Wall Street banking and trading, CEO David Solomon said. “Apple Card is big, but it’s also a beginning,” Solomon said Tuesday in an internal memo obtained by CNBC. “In the decades to come, I expect us to be a leader in our consumer business, just like we are in our institutional and corporate businesses, with customer-centricity at the core of everything we do.””

“Speaking at the Business Insider Ignition Finance event today, Goldman’s head of consumer digital finance in its Marcus division, Omer Ismail, said the company isn’t worried Apple Card’s profitability. Ismail explained that Marcus doesn’t buy into the idea that in order to do what’s right for consumers it must be less profitable. He also pointed out that by doing right by the consumer earns their loyalty in the long run:”

“Citigroup has teamed up with Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab to launch co-branded credit cards, as it looks to boost its Asian customer base by about 13% via partnerships with digital firms, a senior Citi executive said. The new cards mark the latest step in Grab’s big push into the financial services sector, an area it has earmarked for growth. For the U.S. bank, it is in line with its strategy to offer its products within online ecosystems as consumers spend more time on smartphones.”

“Banks reported a record increase in sour credit-card debt in the first quarter and a surge in past-due commercial and industrial loans, a federal regulator said Wednesday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in a quarterly report on bank earnings reported a 22.8% surge in commercial and industrial-loan balances that are 90 days or more past due. Banks also wrote off $12.7 billion in uncollectible loans, a 5.5% increase from the same time last year. Net charge-offs for credit-card debt increased by $543.4 million over the last year, the largest such dollar increase since the FDIC began collecting the data in 1984.”

“Credit-card pitches are moving from the mailbox to the social-media feed. Several big card issuers recently increased spending on Facebook ads in an effort to attract new borrowers. Capital One Financial Corp. and American Express Co.  spent an estimated $18.6 million and $13.5 million, respectively, on Facebook ads meant to sign up new consumer-credit-card holders in 2018, according to Mintel Comperemedia’s analysis of data from digital marketing intelligence firm Pathmatics, up from $2.8 million and $4 million in 2017.”

“Today, Visa introduced a new platform with a set of beta APIs, specifications and development tools for issuers and issuer processors to begin building and beta testing new payment products to help meet the future needs of digital-first consumers. The offering will be available to clients and partners via Visa Next , a new destination for accessing new solutions in Visa’s product pipeline.”

“Under the agreement, Millennium bcp, Portugal’s largest private bank, will begin to issue UnionPay cards to its customers and rolling out UnionPay QuickPass and online payment service.”

“For nearly two decades, Synchrony Financial SYF -1.62% was the exclusive issuer of Walmart Inc. WMT +0.57% credit cards. The Connecticut-based bank stationed dozens of employees in Walmart’s headquarters city of Bentonville, Ark., some of its executives lived in the same gated community as their Walmart counterparts, and employees would hit the same golf course and hunt quail together. That came crashing down in July, when Walmart told Synchrony it was switching to Capital One Financial Corp.”

“Rising interest rates mean credit-card companies will instantly earn more on their floating-rate loans. At the same time, the booming economy and tight labor market are keeping defaults low. This was underscored by Friday’s jobs report, which showed the unemployment rate at its lowest level since 1969.”