On Friday, May 23, 2003, the Payment Cards Center hosted a workshop led by collections managers from J.P. Morgan Chase and Juniper Bank. The managers provided the credit card issuers' perspective on the consumer credit counseling industry. The day's discussion complemented an earlier workshop at...

Consumer confidence in payment card systems has been built up over many decades. Cardholders expect to use their cards to execute payment instructions in a reliable and timely manner. Data breaches that degrade the perceived safety and reliability of payment cards may weaken consumer confidence...

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction based on sex, marital status, race, ethnicity, age, or other specified factors. Regulation B implementing the ECOA, a applied by the courts, requires that financial institutions challenged on...

The U.S. General Services Administration’s SmartPay program is the world’s largest commercial card portfolio. Nearly every state uses payment cards to electronically distribute unemployment insurance, child support, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or other funds. Federal, state, and...

The Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Center for Financial Services Innovation conducted this research project using transaction-level data provided by Meta Payment Systems in an effort to develop a better understanding of how consumers use prepaid cards by...

The U.S. General Services Administration’s SmartPay program is the world’s largest commercial card portfolio. Nearly every state uses payment cards to electronically distribute unemployment insurance, child support, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or other funds. Federal, state, and...

America’s small businesses have adopted credit cards as both a payment method and a borrowing vehicle. The segment also uses other payment card products, including debit, charge, and prepaid cards. The dollar volume of spending with cards designed for small businesses increased by 230 percent...

Today, prepaid cards are used in dozens of payment applications. To examine the most recent developments, the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia hosted a workshop on August 22, 2011. Leading the workshop was Tim Walsh, president and chief executive officer of Ready...

Open-loop prepaid cards are becoming a mainstream payment instrument in the United States. In addition, businesses and governments increasingly view them as a less expensive alternative to checks for disbursing payroll and benefits.There are few studies that examine how consumers actually use...

America's small businesses have adopted credit cards as both a payment method and a borrowing vehicle. The segment also uses other payment card products, including debit, charge, and prepaid cards. The dollar volume of spending with cards designed for small businesses increased by 230 percent...