Average card rates remain at 14.96 percent for third week + MORE Dec 3rd

Like paper maps and clamshell phones, the magnetic stripes on the back of credit cards have started sliding into obsolescence. How soon will they disappear?

Dec. 2, 2015: Average rates on new credit card offers remained flat this week, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report

The U.S. Credit CARD Act has cleaned up the worst practices in the business since it was signed in 2009, but tricks and traps remain, consumer bureau report says

OTTAWA – Canadians in oil-producing provinces are having a harder time paying their bills, even as the national delinquency rate improves to its lowest level in more than six years.
A report by consumer credit monitoring firm Equifax says the national 90-day delinquency rate, excluding mortgages, slipped to 1.05 per cent, down from 1.10 per cent a year ago and the lowest since Equifax began reporting the figures.
Regina Malina, senior director of decision insights at Equifax Canada, says the average delinquency rate for Western Canada is below the national average, but it is rising.
Equifax says the rates in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba rose 13.4 per cent, 8.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.
How to get out of debt »
The delinquency rate in Newfoundland and Labrador was up 5.8 per cent from a year ago.
“Delinquency rates are an indicator that we follow closely and we are now seeing a negative effect in Western Canada,” Malina said.
“The same holds true in Newfoundland — essentially anywhere in the country where the economy is impacted by oil…

Protecting Your Identity
Your DNA solely codes you. Your fingerprints will never match someone else’s. There is no reason why your identity should be any different.
The vast majority of people rarely think about the possible ramifications for using their identity improperly, or how devastating an identity theft can be to their personal lives. We come across emails every day wherein people include all of their personal information.

Our online mortgage application is secure, firewalled and password protected, but email is not. Email transmissions are not protected from hackers, phishers, thieves, and con artists.
Take these measures to keep your identity protected:

When using an Internet service use a secure application, no matter how small the transaction is. Sending credit card numbers through an email could be dangerous.
Never share your passwords with anyone. You’ve heard it before and it seems elementary, but people still don’t follow this rule. They then wonder why they see unauthorized debits withdrawn from their debit accounts…