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Credit card kiting refers to the use of one or more credit cards to obtain cash and purchasing power they do not have, or pay credit card balances with the proceeds of other cards. Unlike check kiting, which is illegal under nearly all circumstances, laws against credit card kiting are not completely prohibitive of the practice, thereby allowing it to be done to some degree. It is up to the banks to detect the practice and when necessary, stop it.
In order for prosecution to occur in a credit card kiting scheme, a bank must prove intent to deceive. [1]
Many credit cards offer introductory rates, which in some cases, could be as low as 0% to which balances from other cards can be transferred. In theory, this enables the endless transfer of balances between cards, and since so many offers are available, this could be carried out for a long period of time. But many banks now have become aware of this practice, and introductory rates are offered only a limited number of times. [2] In this case, the kiter is delaying legally due balances, and potentially, interest payable to the credit card bank.
Cash advances can be obtained from most credit cards, which can be used to pay off balances or loans. Though there are fees and higher interest rates for obtaining these loans, if a card has a high credit limit or no limit at all, this in theory could be used to pay off the previous balance while adding to the interest. In this case, the kiter is delaying legally due balances, and potentially, interest payable to the credit card bank; or, in the cited extreme case, using the credit card proceeds to earn interest at both banks' expense.
Many payment services, such as PayPal and Square, allow people to receive credit card payments for low prices, which could be made to oneself. These could be used to pay off balances. In this case, the kiter is creating cash while avoiding legally entitled cash advance fees. This is a violation of PayPal [3] and Square [4] Terms of Service contracts and agreements.
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term plastic card includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but unlike a credit card, the money for the purchase must be in the cardholder's bank account at the time of a purchase and is immediately transferred directly from that account to the merchant's account to pay for the purchase.
Electronic funds transfer at point of sale is an electronic payment system involving electronic funds transfers based on the use of payment cards, such as debit or credit cards, at payment terminals located at points of sale. EFTPOS technology was developed during the 1980s. In Australia and New Zealand, it is also the brand name of a specific system used for such payments; these systems are mainly country-specific and do not interconnect. In Singapore, it is known as NETS.
A transaction account, also called a checking account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit account, or share draft account at credit unions, is a deposit account held at a bank or other financial institution. It is available to the account owner "on demand" and is available for frequent and immediate access by the account owner or to others as the account owner may direct. Access may be in a variety of ways, such as cash withdrawals, use of debit cards, cheques (checks) and electronic transfer. In economic terms, the funds held in a transaction account are regarded as liquid funds. In accounting terms, they are considered as cash.
Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offence. While the specific elements of particular banking fraud laws vary depending on jurisdictions, the term bank fraud applies to actions that employ a scheme or artifice, as opposed to bank robbery or theft. For this reason, bank fraud is sometimes considered a white-collar crime.
A cheque, or check, is a document that orders a bank to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing the cheque, known as the drawer, has a transaction banking account where the money is held. The drawer writes various details including the monetary amount, date, and a payee on the cheque, and signs it, ordering their bank, known as the drawee, to pay the amount of money stated to the payee.
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately, but promises either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided by the first party can be either property, fulfillment of promises, or performances. In other words, credit is a method of making reciprocity formal, legally enforceable, and extensible to a large group of unrelated people.
Credit card interest is a way in which credit card issuers generate revenue. A card issuer is a bank or credit union that gives a consumer a card or account number that can be used with various payees to make payments and borrow money from the bank simultaneously. The bank pays the payee and then charges the cardholder interest over the time the money remains borrowed. Banks suffer losses when cardholders do not pay back the borrowed money as agreed. As a result, optimal calculation of interest based on any information they have about the cardholder's credit risk is key to a card issuer's profitability. Before determining what interest rate to offer, banks typically check national, and international, credit bureau reports to identify the borrowing history of the card holder applicant with other banks and conduct detailed interviews and documentation of the applicant's finances.
An overdraft occurs when something is withdrawn in excess of what is in a current account. For financial systems, this can be funds in a bank account. For water resources, it can be groundwater in an aquifer. In these situations the account is said to be "overdrawn". In the economic system, if there is a prior agreement with the account provider for an overdraft, and the amount overdrawn is within the authorized overdraft limit, then interest is normally charged at the agreed rate. If the negative balance exceeds the agreed terms, then additional fees may be charged and higher interest rates may apply.
A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them or to fulfill a legal obligation. The party making the payment is commonly called the payer, while the payee is the party receiving the payment.
Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and make payments by electronic transfer and access automated teller machines (ATMs). Such cards are known by a variety of names including bank cards, ATM cards, client cards, key cards or cash cards.
A line of credit is a credit facility extended by a bank or other financial institution to a government, business or individual customer that enables the customer to draw on the facility when the customer needs funds. An amount of credit that a financial institution makes available to a business or consumer during a specified period of time.
A sweep account is an account set up at a bank or other financial institution where the funds are automatically managed between a primary cash account and secondary investment accounts.
Google Pay Send, previously known as Google Wallet, was a peer-to-peer payments service developed by Google before its merger into Google Pay. It allowed people to send and receive money from a mobile device or desktop computer.
Discover Financial Services is an American financial services company that owns and operates Discover Bank, an online bank that offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, home equity loans, student loans and credit cards. It also owns and operates the Discover and Pulse networks, and owns Diners Club International. Discover Card is the third largest credit card brand in the United States, when measured by cards in force, with nearly 50 million cardholders. Discover is currently headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Riverwoods, Illinois.
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt. The card issuer creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the cardholder, from which the cardholder can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance. There are two credit card groups: consumer credit cards and business credit cards. Most cards are plastic, but some are metal cards, and a few gemstone-encrusted metal cards.
PayPal Credit, formerly named Bill Me Later (BML), is a proprietary payment method offered on the websites of many well-known merchants, including those of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, USPS, eBay, B&H Photo Video, Best Buy, Overstock.com, JetBlue Airways, Liquidation Channel, Jewelry Television and Hotels.com. The site, which offers consumers a line of revolving credit through Synchrony Bank, allows purchases to be made online without using a credit card. The company was one of the first recipients of the Red Herring Global 100 Award by the publication Red Herring.
Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices is a proposal for bank regulation in the United States under Federal Reserve Regulation AA. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System announced in a press release on Saturday, May 2, 2008 that the proposed rules, "prohibit unfair practices regarding credit cards and overdraft services that would, among other provisions, protect consumers from unexpected increases in the rate charged on pre-existing credit card balances." Provisions addressing credit card practices aim to enhance protections for consumers who use credit cards and improve the credit card disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act:
An introductory rate is an interest rate charged to a customer during the initial stages of a loan. The rate, which can be as low as 0%, is not permanent and after it expires a normal or higher than normal rate will apply.
Securitization is the financial practice of pooling various types of contractual debt such as residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, auto loans or credit card debt obligations and selling their related cash flows to third party investors as securities, which may be described as bonds, pass-through securities, or collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). Investors are repaid from the principal and interest cash flows collected from the underlying debt and redistributed through the capital structure of the new financing. Securities backed by mortgage receivables are called mortgage-backed securities (MBS), while those backed by other types of receivables are asset-backed securities (ABS).
Supply chain financing is a form of financial transaction wherein a third party facilitates an exchange by financing the supplier on the customer's behalf. Also it refers to the techniques and practices used by banks and other financial institutions to manage the capital invested into the supply chain and reduce risk for the parties involved.