Debit

Hyundai and Kia overstated the fuel economy on more than one-third of the vehicles they sold in recent years, an embarrassing acknowledgment for two of the fastest-growing auto brands in the U.S. The South Korean automakers issued an apology and said they would give special debit cards to nearly a million owners to make up for the difference in the lower miles per gallon logged by the vehicles. The discrepancies were found by the Environmental Protection Agency, which began investigating after consumers complained.

Just as the holiday bills are about to come due, a federal appeals court Wednesday ruled that banks may post checking account withdrawals in a manner that allows them to garner higher overdraft fees. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned a District Court injunction that prohibited Wells Fargo from charging Californians overdraft fees based on posting the most expensive debit-card transactions first. The 9th Circuit, ruling that a California consumer law was preempted by a federal banking law, also overturned an order that required Wells Fargo to pay its California customers $203 million in restitution.

Los Angeles officials are considering a plan to turn the library card into a form of identification that the city's large illegal immigrant population could use to open bank accounts and access an array of city services. The City Council unanimously voted recently to consider the proposal, which would have Los Angeles join the growing number of cities across the nation that offer various forms of identification to undocumented workers and others who cannot get driver's licenses because of their immigration status.

Los Angeles City Council members Wednesday gave enthusiastic backing to the creation of a controversial city identification card that could be used by illegal immigrants to open bank accounts, borrow library books and pay utility bills. Councilman Ed Reyes called it a way for the city's poorest workers to "come out into the light. " While the federal government has failed to pass immigration reform, the city of Los Angeles is able to manage its own affairs, said Councilman Richard Alarcon, who along with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a chief sponsor of the card plan.

Cash and checks are just so 20th century. Even credit cards aren't as popular among shoppers as they were. For a variety of reasons — convenience, accountability, security — shoppers are increasingly using debit cards to make their purchases. That's a good thing for the banks that issue the cards. For the merchants, not so much — the fee they incur for accepting debit cards has risen sharply in recent years. Consumers pay too, as merchants raise their prices to cover those fees.

Cold, hard cash is still the easiest way for most consumers to pay for small-ticket goods, especially as merchants try to deflect the rising costs of accepting debit payments. While 65% of consumers used a credit or debit card for a purchase over the past seven days, nearly 80% used cash, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. And if banks tried to impose debit card fees (as Bank of America tried unsuccessfully to do this fall), 32% of consumers said they'd start shelling out cash to buy things.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed new rules that could sharply limit the fees that banks charge retailers for debit card transactions. The rules would carry out the orders Congress issued to the Fed in the landmark financial-reform law passed this year. The legislation requires that the central bank come up with a plan to assure that so-called swipe fees for debit cards are "reasonable," addressing an issue that has long been a sore point with retailers. Either of two Fed proposals would cap the swipe fee at 12 cents per transaction ?

Remember those dark days after the 2008 financial collapse, when Congress vowed it would get tough with the banks? Well, that resolve seems to be dwindling. A move to undo some of the reforms legislators were touting just months ago was barely stopped Wednesday. The issue at hand this time was debit cards. Currently, when you make a purchase with a debit card, the retailer has to pay a so-called swipe fee of 1% to 3% on the transaction. The rate is set by whatever credit card company the bank is affiliated with — often Visa or MasterCard — but the fee goes to the bank.

This may be a very unpopular thing to say about Bank of America and its planned $5 monthly debit card fee, but it's worth saying anyway: Thank you, Bank of America. The big bank's move created a consumer furor, with consumer activists proposing boycotts by or mass defections of BofA customers to smaller banks without fees, and the bank itself becoming a popular symbol of the financial industry's supposed disregard for the average customer. But its action has a lot to recommend it. First and foremost, it has driven out into the open the real cost of what long has been pitched as a great consumer convenience.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for: Protect your debit card ? Thieves have been using multiple tricks and scams to raid consumers' debit card accounts, the Better Business Bureau cautioned in a recent bulletin. In one scam, swindlers install card-reading devices on gas pumps or ATMs to steal data from and then replicate the cards. Thieves have also installed hidden cameras to capture ATM personal identification numbers, the BBB said. To protect themselves, the BBB said, consumers should use one hand to conceal their PIN as they type it into an ATM, avoid using ATMs in poorly lighted areas; and closely monitor bank statements to look for fraudulent charges.

Hyundai and Kia overstated the fuel economy on more than one-third of the vehicles they sold in recent years, an embarrassing acknowledgment for two of the fastest-growing auto brands in the U.S. The South Korean automakers issued an apology and said they would give special debit cards to nearly a million owners to make up for the difference in the lower miles per gallon logged by the vehicles. The discrepancies were found by the Environmental Protection Agency, which began investigating after consumers complained.

Barnes & Noble, the country's largest bookseller, said data thieves hacked into payment devices and may have stolen customer credit and debit card information at 63 of its stores nationwide, including 20 in California. Hackers planted bugs in a single card reader at each of the stores, the company said. Customers swipe their payment cards through the machines and, if using a debit card, enter their personal identification number. Those PINs may be at risk, along with other account information, potentially giving thieves access to customers' private accounts.

A plan to provide official photo identification cards for illegal immigrants moved easily through a Los Angeles City Council committee Tuesday with an array of supporters lauding it as a practical way to incorporate into civic life the area's large undocumented population. Ed Reyes, a member of the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee, said it's "about time" that Los Angeles residents, regardless of immigration status, have the ability to easily open bank accounts and access city services.

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and American Express Co. are teaming up to offer low-income shoppers a prepaid card. The companies are touting it as a more affordable alternative to debit cards. Called Bluebird, the card is aimed at "customers who are disillusioned or excluded by the rising cost of banking services," the two companies said in a statement Monday. The card, which has been tested since March, will be available next week online and in Wal-Mart stores. Bluebird, which functions somewhat like a checking account, can be used anywhere that accepts American Express cards.

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and American Express are teaming up to offer low-income shoppers a prepaid card, touting it as a more affordable alternative to debit cards. Called Bluebird, the card is aimed at “customers who are disillusioned or excluded by the rising cost of banking services,” the two companies said in a Monday statement. The card, which has been tested since March, will be available next week online and in Wal-Mart stores. Bluebird, which functions somewhat like a checking account, can be used anywhere that accepts American Express cards.

Los Angeles officials are considering a plan to turn the library card into a form of identification that the city's large illegal immigrant population could use to open bank accounts and access an array of city services. The City Council unanimously voted recently to consider the proposal, which would have Los Angeles join the growing number of cities across the nation that offer various forms of identification to undocumented workers and others who cannot get driver's licenses because of their immigration status.

Hoping to say goodbye to paper tax-refund checks, the federal government launched a pilot program to let some people receive their money on a debit card. Next week, the Treasury Department will send letters to 600,000 low- and moderate-income taxpayers offering them the option of signing up for a special MyAccountCard Visa prepaid debit card. Green Dot Corp. in Monrovia, the nation's largest prepaid debit card company, got the nod to provide the cards and manage the pilot program, the Treasury said Thursday.

Bank of America Corp. will charge customers $5 a month when they use debit cards to make purchases, a move likely to be followed by other banks as new federal regulations limit their ability to pinch consumers with big fees for overdrafts and late credit-card payments. Debit cards have been promoted for years as a free and easy way to pay for goods and services. But the costs of using those cards were offset in part by the lucrative fees banks reaped from other services and penalties — and which are now being limited by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Those restrictions include reductions of nearly 50% on so-called swipe charges to merchants who accept debit cards, a change that is slashing the industry's revenue by $6.6 billion a year, according to one study.

Los Angeles officials are considering a plan to turn the library card into a form of identification that the city's large illegal immigrant population could use to open bank accounts and access an array of city services. The City Council last month voted unanimously to study the plan, which would have Los Angeles join the growing number of cities across the nation that offer various forms of identification to undocumented workers and others who cannot get driver's licenses because of their immigration status.

It's with some regret and a lot of head-shaking that we must report that people are posting pictures of their debit cards to the Internet. Just check out @NeedADebitCard , a Twitter account that retweets users posting photos of their debit cards - numbers and all. “My debit card came in the mail today!” one over-sharer tweets. “Just found my credit card :) haha” tweeted another pre-theft victim. “Got my debit card