GREENSBORO, N.C. — Out of every 10 adults in the United States, 8 have a credit card. Those folks are about to see three changes to the way they use those cards.
First, it’s about to become cheaper for stores to accept credit cards.
In a new lawsuit settlement Mastercard and Visa will start charging stores less, so those discounts for paying in cash over cards might go away.
According to the Associated Press: "Industry groups for retailers both small and large said the settlement is a positive development, but far more needs to be done to remedy the current swipe-fee situation. They noted that the lowered fees would be only for a limited period — three to five years — after which the fees would return to their current levels."
“While this settlement is a step in the right direction and will provide a limited amount of short-term relief to small businesses, it does not solve the long-term anti-competitive rate-setting practices that are the root of this problem,” said Jeff Brabant, vice president of federal government relations at the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business advocacy group. “As long as the credit card networks, Visa and Mastercard, get to set the interchange rates for every bank that issues a credit card, anti-competitive pricing will remain, and small businesses will continue to pay artificially high rates.”
Second, artificial intelligence is helping make your card more secure. According to Forbes Mastercard is starting to implement AI into its fraud-prevention department to track strange spending patterns and help catch stolen cards faster.
Third, your wallet could get slimmer soon. Visa is working on rolling out one card that can allow you access to multiple accounts.
A picture from Visa's website shows it in action. You tap your phone and then can pick which account to pay with: your credit card, your checking, or maybe you want to pay with rewards points. You just tap your choice and the payment goes through.