When people picture their ideal vacation, it often revolves around a fantastic hotel. Whether your dream trip involves staying at a beach, at a ski area, or in the heart of your favorite city, using your credit card rewards is an excellent way to cut down on your travel costs. And unlike most frequent-flier programs, many hotel loyalty programs let you redeem your points for free nights whenever you want, so long as there are any unsold standard rooms. Furthermore, free night awards at hotels tend to be immune from the taxes, fees and fuel surcharges that are added to frequent-flier award tickets. Using a hotel credit card is no longer just for...
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The Best Hotel Credit Card in America Can Give You More Than Free Hotel Stays
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Barter, cash, contactless: a brief history of payment services and solutions (BNP Paribas SA)
(Source: BNP Paribas SA) Official hashtag: How to buy, sell and pay your debts? Almost as old as humanity itself, the means of payment has seen an acceleration in its history with the development of computers and new information technologies. An evolution that BNP Paribas has always actively supported and sometimes even initiated. From bartering that had been in vogue for more than 12,000 years to the emergence of 'hard cash' currency, 2,000 years BC, then notes around the year 800 and cheques, which arrived in France in 1826 with such resounding...
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Western Union Offers New Global Money Transfer Service on WeChat (The Western Union Company)
(Source: The Western Union Company) Users of the WeChat app in the United States are now able to send money to 200 countries and territories via Western Union’s WU ® Connect SM Platform SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, and WeChat, a leading social communication platform owned by Tencent Holdings Limited, today announced an agreement which gives users of WeChat in the United States the ability to send money cross-border to 200 countries and territories via the company’s WU Connect platform. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here:...
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BBVA Compass gives clients ability to redeem credit-card rewards on the spot - Instant cash-back gratification- Patent-pending innovation introduced with latest release of BBVA Wallet- Service allows rewards to be redeemed before leaving a store
HOUSTON, Nov. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass broke new ground today, becoming the first major U.S. bank to offer its credit card clients real-time redemption of rewards earned on qualified purchases made at any retailer. The patent-pending innovation was introduced with the latest release of BBVA Wallet, the bank's mobile wallet that gives clients an up-to-the-minute view of purchases, reward balances and more. BBVA Wallet purchase notifications — sent to clients immediately following the use of their BBVA Compass credit cards ― now include cash rewards balances that can be redeemed for an account credit by simply responding to the alert. "Our clients are getting instant...
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Financial Builders Federal Credit Union Selects Buzz Points to Offer Shop Local Loyalty and Rewards Program Throughout the Greater Kokomo Region of Indiana Program rewards members everywhere they shop, awards bonus points for shopping locally, provides turnkey marketing solution to help independent businesses compete with national chain
KOKOMO, Ind., Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Buzz Points, a leader in connecting local businesses, community financial institutions and consumers through rewards, today announced that Financial Builders Federal Credit Union, a member-owned financial institution headquartered in Kokomo, Ind., serving members throughout Howard and Tipton counties has selected the Buzz Points shop local loyalty and rewards program. Buzz Points is free for consumers and allows credit union members to earn rewards while supporting the local economy by using their debit and credit card for everyday shopping....
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CTA, Metra and Pace Release New Ventra App to the Public (CTS - Chicago Transit ...
(Source: CTS - Chicago Transit Authority) 11/19/2015 First-of-its-kind transit app now available for free download on Android and iOS mobile devices The Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace today launched the new Ventra App, making the free app now available for download and use on Apple and Android smartphone and tablet devices via www.ventrachicago.com, the App Store and Google Play. The Ventra App is the first of its kind to allow customers to pay for rides on all three transit systems - CTA, Metra and Pace - from their mobile devices, transforming the way people across Chicago take transit each day. Developed jointly by CTA, Metra and Pace, and funded by the Regional Transportation...
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Happy shoppers on the cards as Nationwide rolls out cashback scheme under Simply Rewards (Nationwide ...
(Source: Nationwide Building Society) 17 November 2015 Current account and credit card customers visiting Simply Rewards website will automatically benefit Refreshed scheme means Select Credit Card customers now have two ways of earning cashback on purchases Nationwide is now offering credit and debit card customers the ability to earn cashback on purchases across many of the UK's favourite retailers as part of a refreshed rewards scheme. Customers who visit the Society's Simply Rewards website, which is enabled...
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FirstMerit Bank Named Best Regional Bank in Midwest by Money Magazine
AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstMerit Bank has been named "Best Regional Bank" in the Midwest by Money magazine as part of the publication's "Best Banks in America 2015-16" feature. Focusing on FirstMerit's Reality Platinum Checking account product, Money cited such benefits as yield, no out-of-network ATM fees, 0.5% discount on home-equity lines of credit and a 0.25% discount on personal loans with automatic payments from the account. "We...
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New Barclaycard CashForward™ World MasterCard® Takes Cash Back Credit Cards in a New Direction -- Card offers 1.5% cash rewards on every purchase and a 5% redemption bonus --
WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Barclaycard, the payments business of Barclays in the United States, announced the launch of its unlimited cash rewards credit card, the Barclaycard CashForward™ World MasterCard®. With no rotating categories, no quarterly sign-ups and no annual fee, it offers a straightforward, simple approach to earning and redeeming cash rewards. Barclaycard is taking cash back in a new direction – forward – by offering cardmembers unlimited 1.5% cash rewards on every purchase and a 5% redemption...
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Citi Named Best Digital Bank in Asia By Global Finance Magazine
HONG KONG--(Antara/BUSINESS WIRE)-- Citi has been recognized as Asia’s Best Digital Bank for 2015 by Global Finance magazine, picking up Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank and Best Consumer Digital Bank in the region. The annual competition evaluates online and mobile banking applications. Winners were selected based on the strength of strategy for attracting and servicing online customers, success in getting clients to use web offerings, growth of the online customer base, breadth of products offered, evidence of tangible benefits gained from Internet initiatives and web site design and functionality. “Technology and digitization are transforming how we serve clients. From credit...
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SunTrust Enhances Credit Card Rewards (SunTrust Banks Inc)
(Source: SunTrust Banks Inc) ATLANTA (Nov. 18, 2015) - SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) introduced a new suite of credit cards with enhanced rewards and cash bonuses for clients. The new SunTrust Cash Rewards, SunTrust Travel Rewards, and SunTrust Prime Rewards credit cards also help clients build financial confidence with features like free access to FICO® Scores. 'Using a SunTrust rewards credit card is an excellent way to maximize your spending power by earning more perks on everyday purchases,' said Mark Ford, head of Bankcard for SunTrust. 'Our new cards were especially designed to...
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Western Union Offers New Global Money Transfer Service on WeChat
Users of the WeChat app in the United States are now able to send money to 200 countries and territories via Western Union’s WU® ConnectSM Platform SAN FRANCISCO--(Antara/BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, and WeChat, a leading social communication platform owned by Tencent Holdings Limited, today announced an agreement which gives users of WeChat in the United States the ability to send money cross-border to 200 countries and territories via the company’s WU Connect platform. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here:...
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Digital wallet expands to give Australians even more ways to pay (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) ...
(Source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia) CommBank app Tap & Pay now supports MasterCard and American Express credit cards. First Australian bank to roll out American Express credit card payments on all Android devices. More than 2.8 million logins to CommBank app each week. CommBank app Tap & Pay now supports both MasterCard and American Express credit card payments, adding to the existing debit card functionality and giving more Australians the ability to...
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CARD.com Announces $9 Million In Growth Funding To Expand Mobile Technology Offering And Generate Customer Growth With over $450 million in deposits to date, CARD.com is a leading online financial services provider for today's consumer
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CARD.com ("CARD"), a leading online financial services provider, announced today it has received a growth capital facility of $9 million from Columbia Pacific Advisors' Growth Capital strategy and Fenway Summer Ventures. Trusted with over $450 million in deposits to date, this investment will allow CARD to expand its customer base through inventive mobile technology, driving the future of branchless banking. "CARD has worked to create a product that alleviates the stress of traditional banking and caters to the needs of today's consumer. Aligning with Columbia Pacific Advisors enables us to pursue...
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The RushCard Fiasco Can Point Us to Good Policy for Serving the Unbanked, Underbanked, and ...
(Source: CEPR - Center for Economic and Policy Research) The RushCard is a prepaid debit card marketed to unbanked and underbanked populations - people not usually served by traditional banks and card issuers because they are categorized as high-risk and tend to be poorer. Started in 2003 by Russell Simmons, originally a hip-hop executive, the RushCard has faced criticism since its beginning mainly for charging excessively high fees. Criticism has mounted in recent weeks, as RushCard users reported that they were locked out of their accounts and could not use their cards for transactions, although the cards still allowed users to add money to them. This meant that people, some of whom had...
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Prudential Bank pledges more support for SMEs
He said the bank had resolved to provide banking services to all sectors of the economy with special focus on micro, small and medium-scale enterprises engaged in trading, handicraft production and export. “We also have packages for players in the fishing and cold storage business, transport services,...
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Continental Money Transfer teams up with Earthport Payment Network for East Africa Payments (Earthport plc) ...
(Source: Earthport plc) Earthport, (AIM listed: EPO), the largest open network for global bank payments is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Continental Money Transfer(CMT) a 24×7 provider of payments across borders, with secure online money transfer solutions. CMT has enhanced its international payments service through partnership with Earthport and will access a one-stop-shop for disbursing payments to multiple beneficiaries in any currency. In...
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Ooredoo and Huawei Extend Strategic Cooperation Agreement Ooredoo and Huawei Work Together to Deploy Cutting-Edge Mobile Broadband Technologies
DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ooredoo today announced a five-year extension of their strategic cooperation agreement with Huawei, which will see the two companies deepen their partnership to support Ooredoo's market leadership across its footprint. Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150616/8521503934LOGO The agreement was announced in Doha, Qatar and was signed by Ahmed Al Derbesti, COO of Ooredoo Group, and Eric Xu, Deputy Chairman of the Board and Rotating CEO of Huawei. As part of the agreement, Huawei will provide a variety of solutions and professional services to benefit all Ooredoo Group's operating companies, including advanced 2G, 3G, LTE, LTE-A, Antenna,...
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CTA, Metra and Pace Release New Ventra App to the Public (Pace Suburban Bus)
(Source: Pace Suburban Bus) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 201512:01:00 AM Media Release Office: (847) 228-4225 Contact: Patrick Wilmot (847) 228-4225 First-of-its-kind transit app now available for free download on Android and iOS mobile devices The Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace today launched the new Ventra App, making the free app now available for download and use on Apple and Android smartphone and tablet devices via www.ventrachicago.com, the App Store and Google Play. The Ventra App is the first of its kind to allow customers to pay for rides on all three transit systems- CTA, Metra and Pace- from their mobile devices, transforming the way people across Chicago take...
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Launch of Electronic Cheque (e-Cheque) publicity campaign (Hong Kong Monetary Authority)
(Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority) The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today the launch of the e-Cheque publicity campaign. Jointly organized by the HKMA and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB), the publicity campaign aims to enhance the public understanding of the e-Cheque service before it is rolled out by the participating banks in phases from 7 December 2015 onwards. The e-Cheque is an electronic counterpart of the paper cheque and turns the cheque writing and...
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