Fast Credit Card Application

The founder of Twitter has a new startup – a new iPhone app and external device that will allow anyone to accept credit card payments. The technology, called Squares, is a handheld device that plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone or iPod touch. A person could swipe their credit card through the device and using an iPhone app, also named Squares, pay you money.

I wouldn’t buy it or let anyone swipe my credit card through it, despite the report that no credit card information is stored on the iPhone. It’s too close to credit card skimming. Would you use it? -LA Times

This week’s credit and debt news:

• After declining for a few months, credit card delinquencies increased in October. -Associated Press
• If you have a variable interest rate on your credit card, your interest rates are probably the lowest they’ll ever be. If you read that federal interest rates have increased, know that your credit card interest rate will soon follow. -CNN Money
• Your credit card issuer makes more money when you struggle to pay off your debt as opposed to converting your credit card balance to a fixed-rate loan and letting you pay the balance over a few years. -Seeking Alpha
• Some gas stations are charing more for customers who pay with a credit card. They’re calling it a “discount” for people who pay it with cash since it’s often illegal and always against credit card-merchant agreements to charge a fee for paying with a credit card. Sounds like the same thing with a different name to me. -ABC Local
• Reality TV stars may paint a picture of living a glamorous life, but they may have acquired a ton of debt to do it. You may have heard about the White House party crashers who were trying out for The Real Housewives of D.C. The couple reportedly have more than $81,000 in credit card debt, recently filed bankruptcy, and have civil suits pending. If that’s what it takes to keep up with the Hilton’s, I’d rather live like the Joneses. Or maybe myself. -CreditCards.com Blog
• Some Black Friday Toys-R-Us shoppers were double charged for credit card purchases. A spokesperson says the extra charge has been reversed, but it’s still a good idea to check your statement to make sure you’re not paying twice for the same Christmas gifts. -WRBL News

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Tags: Credit, Credit Cards