Credit Card

Capital One Financial announced Wednesday a $2.6 billion deal for the U.S. credit card portfolio of London-based HSBC Holdings , a move that would make the McLean firm the nation's third-largest issuer of private label, or store branded, plastic. The deal puts Capital One at the forefront of a niche market it only entered into at the start of this year. The company made its foray into the space in January by picking up the credit card portfolio of Canadian retail conglomerate Hudson's Bay Co. That deal was followed up in April...

This new online feature allows me to answer the questions I couldn't get to during the live chat and to respond to questions you send by e-mail ( colorofmoney@washpost.com ), Twitter (@SingletaryM) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/MichelleSingletary.com) Limits on credit cards Q: Michelle, do you know if not having a credit limit on a credit card (AMEX, actually) can adversely affect your credit score (I've been told that by a loan officer)? Michelle: Your credit limit does...

Capital One Financial, the nation's third-largest issuer of store-branded plastic, said Monday that it agreed to sell its portfolio of Best Buy credit card accounts to Citigroup, just two years after buying it. The move took some bank analysts by surprise because Capital One had recently been bulking up its store card business. Officials at Capital One declined to provide details about the decision. The McLean-based financial firm also did not disclose the sales price but said that the value of the Best Buy...

NEW YORK — The sophistication of a global network of thieves who drained cash machines around the globe of an astonishing $45 million in mere hours sent ripples through the security world, not merely for the size of the operation and ease with which it was carried out, but also for the threat that more such thefts may be in store. Seven people were arrested in the U.S., accused of operating the New York cell of what prosecutors said was a network that carried out thefts at ATMs in 27...

In one year of owning K Street Café and Bagel, Eun Hopkins has gone through four different credit card processors. When she first took over the Washington, D.C. business, the previous owner left her a machine from Mercury Payment Systems – since then, Hopkins has tried Axiom Card Services, Merchant Financial Services, and finally Bank of America. Every few months, representatives from card processing companies drop in or call Hopkins to coax her to use their payment service, she...

What happens if a person passes away and no one files probate because the estate has no assets? Do any relatives become liable for taxes owed by the person who died? Would the relatives have to pay off the debts to the deceased person's creditors? When a person dies, a probate court distributes his or her assets, including paying outstanding debts. Although not all assets go through probate, the ones that do are distributed in accordance with the wishes expressed in the deceased's will.

Google recently announced that it has fixed a security flaw in its Google Wallet prepaid card. As The Verge reports : Google has updated its blog post about the Google Wallet prepaid card security hole, letting us know that it has re-activated provisioning and also put out a fix for the original problem. Last week it was discovered that Google Wallet had a serious security issue that affected all users, in which anybody could clear the app data from Google Wallet, re-open it, and gain access to...

What would you do if you received a court summons indicating that you were being sued for thousands of dollars in debt on a credit card you had no recollection ever applying for or using? Many people would ignore the court notice. And many of those people would probably end up with a default judgment and be forced to pay the debt, some by having wages garnisheed or money snatched from their bank accounts. In 2010, a unit of Asset Acceptance Capital, one of the nation's largest buyers of consumer debt, sued Tim Bond to...

Every day, average American families' financial health is challenged on all fronts: fewer job opportunities, declining home values, and rising prices for necessities like health care, education and child care. With the prospect that gas could approach $4 per gallon this summer, many Americans' budgets will reach a breaking point. Too many families are only a layoff or medical emergency away from financial ruin. In the face of these financial challenges, credit cards offer a convenient pressure valve for cash-strapped families.

With the Republican and Democratic conventions behind us and debate season fast approaching, it's clear by now that both the economy at large and the strength of the nation's small business community are going to be prominent topics in this year's presidential narrative all the way through election day. So it seems as good a time as any to check the state of the U.S. credit card landscape. Credit card trends not only allow us to gauge the country's progress on the road...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's attorney general sued one of the nation's largest banks Thursday, alleging that JPMorgan Chase & Co. used illegal tactics in its efforts to collect debts from more than 100,000 credit card holders. It's the first such lawsuit in the nation, said spokesmen for both the company and the attorney general. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court says the company filed thousands of debt collection lawsuits each month between 2008 and April 2011...

WASHINGTON — Taxicabs in the District of Columbia will be required to accept credit and debit cards by the end of August. The D.C. Taxicab Commission approved the requirement on Wednesday. It's part of a broad package of reforms to the taxi industry that city government leaders have been pushing. The implementation of the credit-card requirement has been beset by a series of delays. But the commission says the rules requiring installation of the credit-card readers will...

WASHINGTON — Americans cut back on using their credit cards in March, suggesting many were reluctant to take on high-interest debt to make purchases. Consumer borrowing rose just $8 billion in March from February to a seasonally adjusted $2.81 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. It was the smallest increase in eight months. The gain was driven entirely by more loans to attend school and buy cars. The category that measures those loans increased $9.7...

WASHINGTON — US consumers increase borrowing $8B to $2.81T, but cut back sharply on credit cards. Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

BALTIMORE — A former employee of the Maryland National Guard has been sentenced to six months in prison for misusing a corporate purchasing card. Fifty-six-year-old Lynn Carol Williams of Middle River was also ordered to serve six months of home detention at sentencing Monday. She was also ordered to pay more than $107,000 in restitution. According to her plea agreement, Williams worked as an administrative aide at Freestate Challenge Academy on Aberdeen Proving Ground....

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described "chip and signature" or "chip and PIN" cards as examples of credit cards with RFID chips. Such cards contain a chip, but it is not an RFID chip. This version has been corrected. At some point between the time she disembarked from a recent cruise in Miami and returned to Carmel, Ind., someone decided to go shopping with Jody Tzucker's credit card. "They bought cigars and other odd things in Miami," says Tzucker, a retired manager for a nonprofit...

Small business lending may be improving, but it's far from easy to get money when your business needs to spend. The right credit card may help. In fact, credit cards were the most popular spending method reported by participants in a 2009 Small Business Administration business credit card survey , with 59 percent of small businesses choosing plastic. But, 79 percent of respondents said the terms of their credit card got worse over the past 12 months. That means not every credit card will be right for your business.

The Obama administration yesterday called for an end to unfair credit card industry practices such as retroactive interest rate increases for any reason, late-fee traps that penalize borrowers with weekend or middle-of-the-day deadlines and teaser rates that last less than six months. In a written statement released by the Treasury Department, the administration outlined practices it would like Congress to reform as it considers two bills that would crack down on the industry. One proposal would force card companies to apply payments above...

The Prince George's County Board of Education voted Thursday night to strip member Carletta Fellows (District 7) of her county-issued credit card after an internal auditor found more than $700 in unauthorized charges for utility bills. Board Chairman Verjeana M. Jacobs (District 5) said she was alerted last month to the charges, which were made in February and March to Pepco, Washington Gas, Comcast and Verizon Wireless. Fellows, who said during the meeting that she will appeal the action, contends that...

Thomas C. Maslin will never fully recover from the beating on Capitol Hill that left him in a coma for six days, his lead surgeon testified in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday. Neurosurgeon Christopher Kalhorn testified in the robbery and assault trial of Tommy Branch, 22, who is charged in the Aug. 18 attack in a tiny park near Eastern Market. Branch and two friends allegedly robbed Maslin of his iPhone, credit cards and keys as Maslin was walking home about 1 a.m. after having beers with some friends...