Search results for

Americans paid an estimated $1 billion in interest on medical debt in just three years, a federal agency finds. This includes use of credit cards often pitched in doctors' and dentists' offices.

Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren is an expert on bankruptcy and is an outspoken critic of consumer lenders. Warren is also the author of The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke.

As of Monday, Costco has officially moved on from its 16-year relationship with American Express and is now partnered with Visa.

Apple wants to change the way you pay for things. Credit card companies are embracing its new mobile payment system as a boost to security, but analysts say Apple could disrupt the payments industry.

Host Jennifer Ludden looks at how the credit card industry markets to teenagers. Legally, banks may not issue credit cards to minors, but solicitations for cards often go out to kids under 18. It seems the card issuers are counting on parents to bail their kids out when they overcharge.

Credit card companies are targeting children as young as 13 with products that allow them to pay with plastic instead of cash. Parents can monitor their children's spending habits, but there are potential pitfalls if users aren't careful.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks with Frontline reporter Lowell Bergman about The Secret History of the Credit Card, a new documentary by PBS and The New York Times. The film traces the rise of America's credit card industry and raises concerns about some if its business practices.

Companies including PayPal and Apple are competing to convince merchants and consumers to use their swipe-and-go mobile payment systems. Credit card breaches may speed up the use of digital wallets.

Congress has passed a bill that would enact sweeping new restrictions on the credit card industry. The bill does away with arbitrary rate hikes and bans issuing cards to minors.

Mastercard and Visa collect billions of dollars in fees each year from the nation's retailers. Merchants have long complained about the way those fees are determined. A lawsuit accusing Mastercard and Visa of antitrust violations is expected to go to trial in Brooklyn soon.