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The New Jersey start-up that snagged a controversial no-bid $53 million contract with New York City to give migrants prepaid debit cards could net a whopping $1.8 million in profits by taking a cut of the funds doled out to asylum seekers, The Post has learned. The one-year deal signed by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and tech finance company Mobility Capital Finance .. is now raising eyebrows with some members of the City Council, who noted the agreement didn’t undergo the usual competitive bidding process. “Something’s wrong with this deal, and taxpayers are getting fleeced,” Councilman Bob Holden (D-Queens) .....

CLAIM: New York City is giving credit cards to migrants living in the U.S. illegally. AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. The city is launching a pilot program that will provide migrants with prepaid debit cards to buy only food and baby supplies, according to a spokesperson for the mayor. Participants will be allowed to shop with the cards at bodegas, grocery stores, supermarkets and convenience stores. The goal is to cut costs, officials said. THE FACTS: Amid a massive influx of migrants to New York City, social media users are misrepresenting the new program with false claims about the type of...

In the best of times, the Internal Revenue Service is tough to deal with, and tax season is never fun. But the past few years have seen the IRS lurch from one crisis to another. And things are about to get much worse for millions of taxpayers. In 2021 Congress expanded the reporting requirements of the obscure Form 1099-K. This information-reporting form tracks business transactions done with a credit or debit card or such peer-to-peer services as Venmo and Paypal. Prior to the change, taxpayers received a 1099-K only if they processed more than 200 business transactions, amounting to more...

A woman says she was left penniless in her bank account after a coffee run and months later she's still fighting to get her money back. Lisa Angello says she stopped in at a Colorado Starbucks for a drink and was shocked to get a notice later from her bank warning that she was overdrawn. The problem was that the $5.70 was actually entered twice in the charge machine, making the amount charged $5,705.70. Angello says she assumed the problem would be an easy fix but she says the error has turned into a months-long back-and-forth between her, USAA Bank,...

link only due to (my) copyright concerns

In the face of losses in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is looking for new ways to cut spending. Starting June 1, the Chicago-based health insurer will no longer accept credit cards as a form of payment for members who buy their own health insurance on or off the Illinois marketplace. The company began notifying customers of the change last month. Blue Cross will still accept other forms of payment, including debit cards. The new payment policy will not affect customers in the group or Medicare markets. In an email announcing the new...

Only some checkout lanes in Safeway stores were affected, Krebs said. This isn't necessarily surprising: When Home Depot was the victim of a data breach last year, compromised self-checkout lanes were thought to be the culprit. Card skimming often pops up at gas stations, ATMs and other places where the payment terminals aren't always under the supervision of a cashier. Skimming devices are getting smaller and sneakier, so it's a good idea to pay attention when you swipe, since even small discrepancies in the PIN pad, card

Creating the infrastructure needed to push the crypto-currency to fruition If bitcoin transactions were less cumbersome, the digital currency could potentially become the premier international currency of the world. But as it stands, using cash or credit for everyday purchases is much more practical. Xapo, the bitcoin wallet and storage service, seeks to reshape this paradigm using a debit card that taps directly into a user’s bitcoin storage and is accepted anywhere in the world where MasterCard is. The Xapo debit card works similarly to a bank issued debit card, performing transactions in real time; when a user purchases a...

I am getting ready to write a letter to the Attorney General of Maine asking his office to investigate how companies put hold on debit/credit cards. During a recent trip we used a prepaid AAA debit card; we purchased gasoline for $29.00 and paid at the pump. After our purchase we checked our statement and the company put a hold of $75.00 on the card. We have a receipt for $29.00. A couple of days later the $75.00 dropped off and our card was debited for the actual amount of the purchase. I understand a company can put a hold...

Effective November 2, 2011, SunTrust will no longer be charging a check card fee on any consumer checking accounts. If you received notice that your account would be subject to this fee, please disregard it. If you have previously been charged this fee, you will receive a full refund within the next 30 days.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov 01, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In response to customer feedback and the changing competitive marketplace, Bank of America no longer intends to implement a debit usage fee. "We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee," said David Darnell, co-chief operating officer. "Our customers' voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so." Bank of America

A month after Bank of America got pummeled by consumers and politicians for introducing plans for new debit-card fees, most other big U.S. banks are steering clear of imposing similar charges. Following eight months of consumer testing, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has decided that it won't charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases, according to a person familiar with the bank's plans. The New York bank's Chase retail unit is one of the largest U.S. consumer banks, with 26.5 million checking accounts and 5,300 branches. J.P. Morgan joins U.S. Bancorp, Citigroup Inc., PNC Financial Services Group...

There are many observations that can be made about President Obama’s remark Monday to ABC News that businesses “don’t have some inherent right just to get a certain amount of profit if your customers are being mistreated.” In and of itself, this comment reveals much about his beliefs and knowledge (or lack thereof) on economics, consumer choice, and the private sector in general. But in the context in which it was made — Bank of America, Citi, and other banks’ recently announced debit-card and checking-account fees for consumers, which they are charging to recoup losses from the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law’s...

Economic indicators are falling. The Fed issued a gloomy report on the future of the economy, saying that the so-called recovery may be “faltering.” Greece has only enough cash to make payroll for a few weeks before it defaults and flattens the European banking system. The only thing missing from a collapse is a good, old-fashioned bank run.Enter Dick Durbin (h/t Ryan K):video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Holding up a plastic debit card on the Senate floor this afternoon, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., had some advice for Bank of America customers angry about the new $5 monthly fee: leave.“Bank of...

The law of unintended consequenes accompanies every piece of legislation passed by congress. Conservatives recognize this fact of life; liberals don't. That's how we get 3000 page health insurance "reform" bills and gigantic headaches like Dodd-Frank; a measure designed to "protect" consumers but whose unintended consequences will make credit harder to get for most, and cost consumers more in the long run. The "Durbin fee" on debit cards is one such unintended consequence: Durbin pitched his amendment, which empowered federal bureaucrats to fix the fees banks can charge merchants for each debit card transaction at 24 cents, as a blow...

Citibank is next with a new banking fee The Bank of America rival says it will begin charging for checking accounts unless customers keep more on deposit. By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times September 30, 2011, 6:12 p.m. Another day, another new bank fee. As the uproar swelled over Bank of America Corp.'s planned $5 monthly charge for debit card use, megabank rival Citigroup Inc. was notifying many Citibank customers that they soon would have to start paying for their checking accounts unless they maintained significantly higher balances. Letters are going out across the country alerting Citi customers of...

My bank manager visited my shop yesterday with some alarming news. Somebody in England used my business debit card for a series of purchases. No biggie. Just claim fraud and get my money back. Not so fast. Turns out that US businesses are on a card check system for which I needed to sign up in order to have a secure code. Who knew? Now I find I have no recourse for the fraud perpetrated against me. The merchant cannot be required to give me information about the purchaser who stole my identity because I was not registered for a...

<p>NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) is joining a growing number of banks that are introducing or testing a monthly fee for debit cards, casting around for revenue lost to debit-card regulatory restrictions.</p> <p>Wells Fargo, the nation's second-largest bank by deposits, will charge a $3 fee for debit and automated-teller-machine cards as of Oct. 14 in several states if such cards are used for purchases (but not for ATM usage). The bank said it is a pilot program, and it will monitor how people respond.</p>

<p>KNOXVILLE (AP) - A University of Georgia graduate assistant and a Baton Rouge, La., waitress have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Knoxville in a scam to steal debit and credit card information from restaurant customers.</p> <p>Waitress Shena Everett was in court Wednesday in Knoxville on a charge of conspiracy to commit access device fraud.</p>

It never ends. As part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, the Federal Reserve was tasked with capping the fees banks charge merchants for debit card transactions. This rule on fees was supposed to be finalized by April of this year and to take effect by July, but the banks and their lobbyists have been screaming bloody murder. They've also been throwing around lots of cash. See here. And it worked! Call it the glory of "bi-partisanship." According to reports, Democrat Senators, including Jon Tester of Montana, and Republic Senators, including Bob Corker of Tennessee, are now drafting legislation to...