Citigroup has hired a number of new collectors and have increased the frequency of calls to delinquent account holders. American Express is offering to cut interest rates and fees, while Bank of America has begun contacting customers with late accounts earlier than in the past.

This effort is in response to an increase in delinquencies brought about by a number of factors including decreasing home prices, increased gasoline prices, and rising unemployment. The banks are also facing pressure from other areas of their business and are aggressively trying to keep credit card debt from being the next banking crisis.

Total revolving debt in the United States, which primarily consists of credit card balances, was $969.9 billion at the end of July.

The banks recommend that if you see yourself getting into trouble, it is best to go ahead and contact your credit card company in order to work out a plan as soon as possible.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Banks Working Harder to Collect Credit Card Debt

Loans at least 30 days past due in in the most recent quarter totaled 2.65%. This is the highest level of delinquency since 1992, when delinquencies totaled 2.75%.

Source: USA Today – Late payments on consumer loans at 16-year high

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Late Payments On Consumer Loans Reach 16 Year High

The Federal Reserve recently released a short publication detailing five tips that consumers should remember to maintain their checking accounts and protect their money from identity thieves.

The tips for protecting your checking account data are:

1. Don’t give your account number and bank routing number information to anyone you don’t know. Comment: These two pieces of information are all that is needed to create an electronic draft against your account.
2. Review your monthly statement. Comment: You only have a limited time frame to report errors, on unauthorized debits on your account to your bank, typically, 90 days.
3. Notify your bank about any problems as soon as possible.Comment: As stated above, the sooner you let your bank know that something is wrong, the better. You should always keep all documentation including statements and notes of conversations.
4. If you don’t have enough money in your account, don’t write the the check or authorize the debit. Comment: Because of Check 21 (the law that made it possible for banks to convert checks into electronic items for processing) checks will clear your account much faster than they used to, typically as fast as a debit card transaction.
5. Know your rights under consumer protection laws. Comment: I will be doing a series of posts on consumer protection laws. You owe it to yourself to know your rights.

Good advice. You can find the full Fed publicationhere.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: 5 Tips for Protecting Your Checking Account

The first method we will examine is ARC (Accounts Receivable Entry).  This type of conversion is used be businesses receiving payments by mail.  The business would typically scan the check to preserve and image copy, then acquire your banking information, such as routing number, account number, and amount from the check.  This information is used to create an electronic debit, which is transmitted to your account via the businesses bank.  The physical check is retained by the business for a time, then it is destroyed.  A typical company using this type of check conversion would be a credit card company.

The second method of check conversion is POP (Point of Purchase).  This type of conversion is performed in person at the time of purchase.  Typically, the customer would be presented their voided check back, after a sales person captures all needed data.  This type of conversion is typically seen in retail stores.

The third type of check conversion is BAC (Back Office Conversion).  This conversion type is similar to ARC.  Items are accepted at the retail level, but they are imaged and archived, after all necessary account data has been retrieved.  This type of conversion is also typically performed by retail establishments.

If you examine examine your bank statement closely, you may notice these individual conversion codes.

Businesses utilizing check conversion reap a number of advantages.  They will typically receive funds more quickly, since they do not have to wait for a physical check to make its way through the system.  Another advantage is that the business does not have to physically visit a bank to deposit the items.  All communication can be performed electronically.

You can find more information at the check conversion section of electronicpayments.org

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: All About Check Conversion