Major Data Breach On Travel Sites; Mastercard Looks Beyond Cards
/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/522152569/0x0.jpg)
Credit Card Info of Millions of Guests Leaked in Travel Site Data Breach
If you’ve traveled any time since 2013, it might be time to check your bank accounts. Three of the web’s biggest travel sites have leaked personal and financial data for millions of users, including payment card details. Prestige Software is a Spanish developer that owns reservation software called Cloud Hospitality. It’s designed to help automate hotel listings on websites like Hotels.com and Expedia.com for online booking. Security researchers from Website Planet found that Cloud Hospitality stored information from more than 10 million travelers on an unsecured database with no password protection. [Komando.com]
Data on 10 million travelers may have been compromised
Mastercard’s Next CEO Sees Big World Beyond Cards After Latest Real-Time Payments Deal
Mastercard next chief executive sees a big opportunity beyond credit cards as the company pushes deeper into real-time payments that run independent of the traditional card rails. Michael Miebach said the company wants to have the ability to connect any payer to payees, regardless of whether the parties are using cards, bank accounts, mobile wallets or other forms of payments. [MarketWatch]
CA Unemployment: Why is Bank of America Draining EDD Bank Accounts?
California’s Employment Development Department is fighting rampant fraud. But in the process, many unemployed workers say their accounts are frozen and their money is suddenly gone. Bank of America has been draining money out of countless EDD accounts, leaving many workers bewildered and without money. [KABC]
Wells Fargo Seeks Bidders For Private-Label Credit Card Unit
Wells Fargo is seeking to sell its private-label credit card and point-of-sale financing unit as part of an ongoing strategic review of its businesses. The banking group has started reaching out to possible bidders, but still hasn’t made a definitive decision as to whether it will actually sell the unit, which specializes in store-branded credit cards. Selling the private-label credit card unit would be a business reversal for the financial services group. [PYMNTS]
Consumers Prefer Mobile Pay
Over 74% of Americans used their phone to order and pay for food and merchandise at least once a week, with nearly 48% using their phones for purchases several times a week or more. More than half of Americans (54.8%) used their phone for online retail purchases (i.e.: Amazon
Citi Sees Quick Results from True Name Cards for Trans, Nonbinary Consumers
When Citi last month announced that transgender customers could use their preferred name on their credit cards, the bank was unsure of what to expect. The response exceeded expectations, with more than 1,600 Citi customers requesting a name-change on their cards within the first few weeks of the program. To build on that momentum, Citi is putting marketing weight behind the initiative. [Payments Source]
Chase Launches New Bonus Offer Worth Up to 70,000 Miles on the United Explorer Card
The United Explorer Card is the latest Chase card to offer an elevated welcome bonus, worth up to 70,000 bonus miles. This bonus offer is worth up to 30,000 more miles than usual and is only running for a limited time, until January 13, 2021. [CNBC]
Interesting 2020 Trends in Prepaid Gift Cards
Prepaid gift cards purchased as gifts for others are much more likely to be bought at a gift card display than from any other location. Websites that sell a wide range of prepaid cards are experiencing high growth. Banks have emerged as an increasingly popular place to buy prepaid gift cards. Social media websites have exploded in popularity to buy prepaid gift cards. [Payments Journal]
AmEx Boosts Sign-Up Bonus, Rewards Stay-at-Home Spending
New cardholders for the Platinum Card from American Express
Capital One to Let Most US Call-Center Workers Stay Remote after Pandemic
Most employees at Capital One’s U.S. call centers for cards will work from home after the coronavirus pandemic ends. The directive comes about a week after fellow card titan Synchrony Financial
PayPal’s Crypto Trading Goes Live in the US
On Thursday, PayPal’s crypto trading and payments went live for all eligible customers in the United States. Trading features a limit of $20,000 per week, which is double the originally announced $10,000. PayPal ultimately plans to make crypto payments available at 26 million merchants globally. [Coin Telegraph]
Pre-Approved Vs. Pre-Qualified For Credit Cards: What’s The Difference
Offers for credit cards may show up as mail, email or even a phone call. If you pay attention you may see that you are pre-approved or pre-qualified. While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a distinction. And the difference comes down to who initiates the process. Pre-qualification is typically requested by the consumer. In a pre-approval, the lender generally initiates the inquiry into a consumer’s fitness for their product. [Forbes]
