Word: mastercards
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Visa and MasterCard have introduced so-called affinity cards for conservation groups. As in credit-card programs that award frequent-flyer mileage on major airlines, the nonprofit organizations receive a small percentage of the bill charged by each new member customer. The Nature Conservancy has taken in $150,000 from MCI since the program began last February, and expects its take to grow to nearly $400,000 annually in the future...
...issuers covet the rich profits that can be reaped from installment credit. Banks that issue general-use credit cards, like the 420 million Visa and MasterCards in circulation worldwide, have been borrowing funds in the U.S. at 9% to 10% interest and loaning those funds out on plastic at as much as 22%. For banks stuck with Third World loans and rancid real estate, that spells salvation. At the 10 largest banks in the business, which hold 48% of all outstanding card debt, credit cards account for 25% of profits. Citibank, the largest issuer, cleared $610 million in profits...
...American Express. Steve DiFillippo, owner of Davio's, where a Northern Italian veal-chop dinner for two can run $100, needed to pare costs. He threatened to turn away the American Express card unless Amex reduced its take -- 3.25% of every purchase, vs. 1.7% to 2% for Visa and MasterCard. Last week the combatants struck a truce when DiFillippo accepted Amex's offer of a 2.9% rate, saving him $11,000 a year. Amex also offered him $6,000 of advertising as part of a new nationwide program to rouse diners out of the doldrums. DiFillippo says his complaints...
Latest example: Citibank, which last week announced "Citibank Price Protection" for its 30 million MasterCard and Visa holders. The program guarantees that if you buy something with a Citibank card and see the item advertised at a lower price within 60 days, Citibank will refund the difference...
...bought more than $1 million worth of airtime to introduce its new Universal credit card. Since then, AT&T has mailed out 1.7 million cards, prompting predictions that the Universal will become the world's most popular credit plate. Besides having the benefits of a Visa or MasterCard, Universal holders get a 10% discount on AT&T phone calls charged on the card. And for all who apply for the Universal this year, AT&T is tossing in a lifetime waiver of annual fees. Ironically, the cost of introducing the new card has eaten into company profits. And card-issuing...