With the COVID-19 health pandemic wreaking havoc on jobs, investments, consumer debt and lending, secured credit cards can address a vital need for people who may not have considered the product in the past.
Goldman Sachs, the card’s issuer, has rolled out a new program in which it will provide personalized advice to consumers with marred credit profiles in hopes of making them customers down the road.
Mastercard has agreed to acquire Finicity for a reported price of $825 million, a move the card brand says will strengthen its open banking platform and expand financial services through more real-time access to data.
With Americans traveling less due to the pandemic, the card, issued by Synchrony, is tailoring rewards to everyday purchases, such as groceries. It also has a contactless feature that could appeal to shoppers fearful of touching terminals.
Payments processors are keeping a portion of payments as a reserve against potential disputes between cardholders and merchants. Small-business owners say the practice is eating into their profits.
Banks are looking to reduce their consumer credit risk exposure in the face of high unemployment; the drop in branch transactions is causing banks to rethink how many they need.
Since March, issuers have tightened their criteria for opening new accounts and closed millions of existing ones in hopes of avoiding waves of defaults.
The agency has freed companies from reporting requirements and provided flexibility on exams to help them deal with COVID-19 fallout. It has also finished other regulatory relief efforts that were in the pipeline before the pandemic hit.
American Express Chief Executive Steve Squeri said a majority of the company’s employees will work remotely through 2020 as it seeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
