Credit Card Use–Line of Credit Increasingly Used Online
Credit Card Use Online
Later today, the chairman of comScore, Gian Fulgoni, is due to talk about his company’s most recent research, which reveals new credit card trends. It shows the very rapid rate at which e-commerce is growing in America, and–appropriately–Mr. Fulgoni will use a webinar (an online seminar) to explore its findings.
A large number of those shopping online use credit cards to pay for their transactions. Because, as the New York Times pointed out a couple of weeks ago, “…it’s generally less of a hassle to get fraudulent credit card charges halted…” than those that appear on debit card statements. Some ultra-cautious online shoppers prefer to use a prepaid card to further insulate their lines of credit from fraudsters.
The comScore research suggests that retail e-commerce spending in the U.S. reached $32.9 billion in the second quarter of this year, up nine percent on the same period in 2009. The popularity of online buying grew most quickly in high-income households. Those in the $100,000+ a year bracket increased their online expenditure by 17 percent during that time, almost twice the national average.
Credit Card Trends by City
On Monday, Experian, a leading credit bureau, released its own research into credit card use, and this time the focus was on variations between America’s top-20 metropolitan areas. For example, those living in New York City have on average 3.77 open credit cards, while those in Phoenix, Arizona, have just 2.78. Such variations between the top and bottom ranking cities may sound small, but when you remember how many consumers have no cards at all, and how few have eight or more, those variations are quite revealing.
However, it would be a mistake to assume that those with the highest number of open cards also have the highest credit card debt. The study suggests that the average monthly credit card balance for New Yorkers living in the metropolitan area is $5,713, while for those in Phoenix it is $6,058.
Those in Atlanta have the highest average monthly balance ($6,753), and those in San Francisco the lowest ($5,323).
Corporate Credit Cards
Citi won a a welcome accolade Tuesday when The Nilson Report named it the number one corporate bank card issuer. The ranking was based on transaction volumes rather than customer service, but, presumably, Citi would with some justification argue that the two are closely linked. In a press release, the bank spoke of:
…a host of online, customizable, reporting tools and integrated solutions…that takes program and report management to a higher level, providing a superior quality business intelligence engine –supporting the need for consolidated data and card-level administration and information.
If you’re in the market for a high-performance business credit card, you should look into the cards offered by Chase, American Express and Citi.
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