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Customers Say Retailers Are Not Living Up to Durbin Amendment Promise

by Flexo
Cashier checkout at Walmart

Retailers, represented by the National Retail Foundation, promised that consumers would benefit when retailers, particularly small businesses, were to benefit from regulated interchange (swipe) fees charged by Visa and MasterCard. The regulation, commonly called the “Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act,” would lower the cost for businesses who were subject to an effective duopoly between ... Continue reading this article…

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Do Retailers Know Too Much About Shoppers?

by Flexo
Target

It’s no surprise that retailers track your purchases. It’s obvious at the grocery store, particularly if you sign up for the supermarket’s loyalty discount program. If you provide your address, you’ll receive coupons and ads tailored specifically to your buying habits. My local supermarket allows customers to sign up anonymously; the coupons are offered right ... Continue reading this article…

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Amazon.com Retail Stores: Another Threat to Small Businesses?

by Flexo
Books

I was torn when Amazon.com, the online-only retailer for books, music, and movies, became popular. I liked the convenience, but it was clear that local brick-and-mortar bookstores would have difficulty competing with Amazon’s prices in the long term. I was swayed enough to the side against Amazon when I participated in a boycott of the ... Continue reading this article…

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Top Ten Personal Finance Start-Ups

by Flexo

The financial industry has been mostly static for centuries, with companies doing business and offering services not much different from how the companies operated for earlier generations of consumers. When there is innovation in the industry, it generally comes from smaller companies and entrepreneurs looking to fill a need that isn’t covered by larger, less ... Continue reading this article…

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Local Currencies to Replace the Dollar in Communities

by Flexo
Dollar currency

It may be illegal for states to print money for commerce, but local communities have no such restriction from the federal government. And in some communities, local currencies have been successful, at least in gaining the support of some retailers and consumers. There’s no law of nature that says that an economy functions best when ... Continue reading this article…

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Cash Back Rewards Stolen

by Flexo
Burglar alarm

Using cash back credit cards is rewarding in two specific ways. First, you’re earning money when you spend. That’s the obvious part. But when you know that you’re getting a rebate when you use your credit card, you also feel better about spending than you would otherwise. Feeling good can be dangerous, as you might ... Continue reading this article…

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Wants Payday Loan Feedback

by Flexo
Check

While the mainstream financial industry has faced a dizzying array of government and quasi-government regulations through most of the last one hundred years, non-bank financial products have, for the most part, evaded regulations. Catering to lower-income communities, payday loan storefronts and check cashing establishments have managed to justify their business models. The more desperate you ... Continue reading this article…

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Save Money: Break Up Before Valentine’s Day

by Guest Author
Valentine's Day

This is a guest article by Jennifer Calonia, Junior Editor at GoBankingRates. In the article, the author encourages couples in failing relationships to break-up before holidays and their obligatory expenses are imminent. While it may sound like the antithesis of romance, calling it quits with your other half before the Valentine’s Day can be advantageous ... Continue reading this article…

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