Federal government targets cash transactions over $200 in border areas

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14-CBS4) — The federal government is expanding its financial surveillance efforts, targeting cash transactions over $200 in select border communities, including El Paso. The new Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) issued by the Treasury Department will require businesses that fulfill money orders and cash checks to report any transaction over $200 to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. This order applies to specific ZIP codes in California and Texas and aims to combat money laundering by Mexican cartels.

Starting April 14, check cashing services and money transfer companies in these areas will be required to report transactions of $200 or more, a significant reduction from the previous $10,000 threshold. The order will remain in effect until September 9. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the importance of the new limit, stating, "Today’s issuance of this GTO underscores our deep concern with the significant risk to the U.S. financial system of the cartels, drug traffickers, and other criminal actors along the Southwest border."

Read more at FOX14

Map Shows Where Americans Have the Highest Credit Card Debt

Americans collectively hold $1.35 trillion in credit card debt, with some cities carrying significantly higher balances than others, according to a new WalletHub study. The report, which analyzed consumer finance data from TransUnion, highlights which U.S. cities have the highest and lowest credit card debt in 2025.

Why It Matters

Credit card debt in the U.S. continues to rise, with Americans adding approximately $74 billion to their outstanding balances last year alone, WalletHub's data shows.

As interest rates remain elevated, higher balances mean increased financial strain for households, potentially leading to long-term financial instability.

What To Know

The WalletHub study found that cities with the highest credit card debt tend to have a mix of higher living costs and higher incomes, which can contribute to larger outstanding balances. Santa Clarita, California led the ranking with an average household debt of $22,753.

Read more at NEWSWEEK

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Tech firm allows online shoppers to turn smartphones into a reader where you can TAP your debit card to pay

'This will be a fundamental step change in the way that payments are processed,' Justin Pike tells This is Money.

'All of a sudden, my 75-year-old mother can now shop on the internet exactly the same way as she buys her newspaper and pint of milk in the morning.'

Pike is chief executive of Burbank, which has this week launched a world-first online card payment technology known as 'Card Present over Internet' or CPoI.

The payment method allows users to tap their payment card against their mobile phone and enter their Pin to make a payment, in the same way payments are made in shops.

Read more at This Is Money

Dollar General Warns Consumers Reaching Their Financial Breaking Point

Walmart and Dollar General are united, at least when it comes to one certain subject. Both retail chains are issuing warnings that low-income U.S. consumers have reached their financial breaking point, according to CNN.

Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO said on a recent earnings call, ‘Our shoppers continuously report that their financial circumstances have worsened over the past year as they’ve been negatively affected by inflation.’

He added, ‘Many of our shoppers say they only have sufficient funds for the basics, with some customers saying they’ve had to sacrifice even on the basic essentials.’

Dollar General reported that its same-store sales figures ticked upward by only 1.2 percent last quarter as less and less of its primary consumers — the ones who earn under $40,000 a year — were coming in to shop because of “ongoing financial pressures.” The company also saw spending from mid-income consumers trading down at stores to save money, which might also be an indication of macroeconomic turbulence.

Read more at NEWSBREAK

Walmart: Klarna, OnePay unveil installment loans tie-up for Walmart shoppers in US

Swedish payments firm Klarna said on Monday it is partnering with consumer finance app OnePay to offer installment loans for purchases at retail giant Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab in the United States.

Installment loans, a staple of consumer lending, offer fixed payments over a set period, making them a popular and often lower-cost alternative to credit cards for big-ticket purchases such as electronics and cars.

Shares of U.S.-based buy now, pay later lender Affirm (AFRM.O), opens new tab, which previously held the sought-after partnership, fell 11% following the news.

"Our broader view about these alternative lenders like Affirm is that there's plenty of share to take from the traditional prime consumer finance companies like the credit cards," analysts at BTIG wrote in a note.

Read more at REUTERS

67% of Consumers Pay for Services That Save Them Time Despite Inflation and Paycheck Pressures

Inflation’s still sticky. Most consumers live paycheck to paycheck.

And yet, despite the pressures of daily life — meeting the essentials while eyeing what’s left over to pay for a myriad of other choices, including how we get those essentials — convenience services, which bring goods to the doorstop, still have a share of the proverbial wallet.

In a recent Paycheck-to-Paycheck report, titled “The Price of Time: When Consumers Opt for Convenience,” a few trends stand out. As has been seen in our continued tracking of spending vs. income, the majority of us — 67% in the most recent reading — live paycheck to paycheck at the beginning of 2025. That’s up from 65% in just the month prior.

The continued impact of inflation, where prices are still climbing for groceries and clothing (and for shelter too), is keenly felt by lower-income consumers, who earn less than $50,000 annually — 74% of households at or below that threshold live paycheck to paycheck.

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

Block Gets the FDIC’s OK To Take Consumer Cash App Borrow Loans In-house

Square and Cash App parent Block Inc. announced late Thursday its Square Financial Services Inc. industrial bank has received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to make consumer loans through Block’s Cash App Borrow feature.

Square Financial Services launched as a Salt Lake City-based, FDIC-chartered industrial bank in 2021 to offer business loans and savings accounts to businesses. Previously, Cash App Borrow loans were made through a banking partner. Block reportedly began testing Cash App Borrow in 2020. The feature lets consumers borrow up to $200 and have up to four weeks to repay the loan. The ability to make loans directly to consumers means Block no longer has to share revenues earned on the loans with a banking partner.

“This is a revenue-enrichment move that doesn’t surprise me because Square and other companies like it are consolidating third-party services,” says Cliff Gray, principal at Gray Consulting Ventures LLC.

Read more at DigitalTransactions.net

Americans Are Stocking Up on These 9 Items in the Current Economic Environment — Should They Be?

A February study by CreditCards.com found that 42% of Americans are either stockpiling goods or planning to do so. The research found that 1 in 5 Americans are “doom spending,” which is buying excessively or impulsively, out of fear of some future event. Three in 10 Americans say they’re actively preparing for another pandemic.

Items Americans Are Stockpiling

“People are primarily stockpiling shelf-stable groceries and toilet paper,” explained Melanie Musson, retail finance expert at Clearsurance.com. 

Sure enough, the CreditCards.com data shows 76% of stockpilers have loaded up on non-perishable foods. Another 72% have stocked up on toilet paper, remembering those panicky days early in the pandemic. 

But the compulsive consumption doesn’t end there. The data shows these buyers also hoarding medical supplies (49%) and medications (44%). Many are also snatching up personal care products (25%), water filtration systems (21%), and firearms and ammunition (15%).

Read more at GOBankingRates

Credit Union Assets, Delinquencies, Shares and Deposits Grow in the Fourth Quarter

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (March 11, 2025) – According to the latest financial performance data released today by the National Credit Union Administration, total assets in federally insured credit unions rose by $52 billion, or 2.3 percent, to $2.31 trillion over the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2024. Insured shares and deposits grew $58 billion, or 3.4 percent, to $1.78 trillion. The delinquency rate at federally insured credit unions was 98 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2024, up 15 basis points from one year earlier.

“The growth in assets and insured shares is good news and reflects the strength and resiliency of the credit union system when operating within a mixed economic environment,” NCUA Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman said. “The NCUA is closely watching interest rates, delinquency rates, and inflation and their effects on the economy. Credit union managers and directors should prepare for a variety of interest rate scenarios and economic conditions.”

Read more at NCUA.GOV

TD empowers Canadian youth with engaging financial education through innovative gaming

TD is launching its first-ever financial literacy game on the immersive gaming and creation platform Roblox: Treat Island Tycoon

TORONTO, March 13, 2025 /CNW/ - A recent TD survey found 86 percent of Canadian parents with children under 18 agreed that interactive games that teach finances, or animated videos explaining financial concepts, could make learning about finances more fun for kids. By comparison, only 22 percent of parents surveyed felt the same about financial literacy books, emphasizing the belief that virtual experiences have a greater impact on their children when it comes to improving their financial knowledge.

As Canadian parents look for new and innovative ways to introduce important financial concepts to their kids and teens, virtual channels offer significant value, reaching Canadian youth on platforms that are authentic and engaging to them. To continue driving financial education forward for younger Canadians – while creating customer-centric experiences – TD is exploring creative gaming experiences that make learning about basic finances entertaining.

Read more at TD Bank Group

How consumers can protect their finances as federal safeguards crumble

As the Trump administration looks to neuter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, advocates urge borrowers to step up their own defenses.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s fate hangs in the balance, and with it the extent of the government’s oversight of Americans’ savings and $18 trillion in household debt.

Consumer advocates are already sounding alarms.

“This climate is going to be ripe for an uptake in fraudulent activities,” said Lara Benson, an attorney at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a fair-lending advocacy group.

Read more at NBC

Gen Z Credit Card Use is Outpacing Millennials’, Amid Financial Stress and Ballooning Debt

At one time, Generation Z said it wanted to avoid credit cards. But a new study finds they are charging more now than Millennials did at the same age. With less than half of Gen Z even old enough to use credit, are they already shaping up to be 'Generation Debt'?

Not so long ago, studies and surveys reported Generation Z loved debit cards and avoided credit. It wasn’t the first time a generation said it felt that way: For a while, Millennials were wary of credit cards and hesitated to get into debt, having seen the troubles parents or older siblings faced during the mortgage crisis.

But Gen Z’s relationship to credit cards has changed big time, according to research by TransUnion, as well as analysis of its extensive credit database.

The company compared Gen Z to Millennials when they were in the same age range—22-24 years old — and adjusted dollar figures for credit use and income for inflation.

Read more at The Financial Brand

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Tips for Retailers to Avoid Tech Security Outages

In partnership with Censuswide Research, NCR Voyix recently commissioned a survey of U.S. IT professionals and found that nearly 40 percent of respondents average 86 instances of regular maintenance to their in-store technology stacks each year. The kicker: 40 percent of respondents said these updates can take between two weeks and six months for an all-store rollout.

During this prolonged process, system outages can occur, impacting every part of your store’s operations. The key to minimizing these occurrences across any retailer’s stores is a well-planned and practiced preventative maintenance program.

Minimize Risk With the Right Support

The platforms you work with, including those from cloud service providers, along with human error and breakdowns in internal IT operations, present challenges that retailers must address.

Read more at TOTAL RETAIL

Gender pay gap in U.S. has narrowed slightly over 2 decades: PEW

The gender gap in pay has slightly narrowed in the United States over the past 20 years or so. In 2024, women earned an average of 85% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. In 2003, women earned 81% as much as men.

As has long been the case, the wage gap is smaller for workers ages 25 to 34 than for all workers 16 and older. In 2024, women 25 to 34 earned an average of 95 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same age group – a 5-cent gap. By comparison, the gender pay gap among workers of all ages that year was 15 cents.

While the gender pay gap has not changed a lot since 2003, it has narrowed considerably when looking at the longer term, both among all workers 16 and older and among those 25 to 34. The estimated 15-cent gender pay gap among all workers in 2024 was down from 35 cents in 1982. And the 5-cent gap among workers ages 25 to 34 in 2024 was down from a 26-cent gap.

Read more at PEW Research Center