A Midsummer Night’s Gift Card Giving

Well, strictly speaking, the “Midsummer Night” of Shakespearean fame comes just after the summer solstice in June.  Here in America, summer seems to run from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with July 4th in-between, making July our own “midsummer.”

Taking Checks Still a Good Idea & Other Fallout from Recent Breaches

A thoughtful analysis on Pymnts. com talks about some of the unexpected “fallout” from the recent high-profile credit card breaches. One might expect that such an event would accelerate the calls for adapting more secure “EMV” card standards here, or even spark discussions on whether customers should have ever-shifting “account numbers,” etc., as a way of minimizing security risks. And those discussions have happened.

Cards in Hand: What Your Customers Like Using Charge and Debit For

Georgia-based Total Systems Services Inc., or TSYS, is out with their 2013 Consumer Payment Choice Study. And while the main purpose of the study was to find out how anxious, or ready, customers were to turn their mobile devices into wallets, though the secondary information in the survey — what types of plastic consumers prefer for which kinds of transactions — was perhaps just as illuminating.

After the Shutdown: Holiday Budgets Trimmed, Consumers Still Willing to Shop

Like the Boy  Scouts, we believe in being prepared. Especially now that the U.S. is once again funding its government and paying its debts, and people are free, relatively, to go about their business.  Part of that preparation may include anticipating how much business you can now expect from customers this holiday season.

More on the Young, and their Credit

A few weeks back, we mentioned some conflicting reports on young adults and their use of credit.  On the one hand, they were getting deeper in debt — due to sluggish job prospects and increased school costs, among other things. On the other, they were generally preferring to use debit cards, instead of credit cards, to pay for things where plastic was required, to avoid piling up even more debt.