New Zealanders increased spending on debit and credit cards in February, led by gains in hospitality and apparel as low inflation

People are becoming more comfortable with the new way of paying for small items, with a trebling in the use of contactless card transactions over the past year.

Apple has promised that its Pay service can revolutionise the way we shop, replacing a credit card swipe with a tap of the phone.

Presidents, they're just like us - their credit cards get declined.

Having bad credit can stand in the way of everything from borrowing from the bank to signing up with a power company for your home electricity.

Visa is rolling out software to detect whether it's you or someone pretending to be you filling up on fuel.

A six-year-old racked up a credit card bill of more than $1,200 in just two days, playing games on his parents' tablet.

Consumer spending rose strongly and across the board last month, electronic card transactions indicate.

Remember that ad where Richie McCaw races around the shops in a suit, buying wedding presents and tapping his card on an eftpos terminal?

Ordinary travel insurance is full of fish-hooks, writes Diana Clement. Credit card travel insurance has even more nasty surprises.

Credit card debt has reached a record high - and if you're keen to get rid of yours faster, it pays to hunt for the best deal.

Kiwis appear to be falling back into the bad credit card habits last seen before the global financial crisis, an economist has warned.

Competition is heating up in the $5.6b credit card market, with two major banks releasing new offers in the past week.

Next time you give your credit card some exercise, ask yourself if you're behaving logically. You're probably not.

Card fraud is now big business. The victim may be in New Zealand; an offender may well be in Russia, Germany or Taiwan."Cash, they told us, was old hat. Paper money was an anachronism from another era, an idea whose time had passed.

After a week-long holiday relaxing in the Far North, Chloe Johnson panics when she tries to buy skincare products online and discovers the card is missing from its usual home inside her wallet.

Banks and police are trying to stay ahead of wily credit card fraudsters - but as long as banks mail pre-activated cards, the problem will persist.

A man arrested in Australia for "significant'' credit card fraud is alleged to have used money fleeced from bank accounts to travel to New Zealand on fake passports.

More New Zealanders are feeling comfortable about increasing the limit on their credit card limits now than this time last year, according to survey findings.

A consumer watchdog has called Air New Zealand credit card surcharges draconian - but how much you pay depends on where you book your tickets.

New Zealand banks face what is expected to be the biggest class suit the country has seen over $1 billion in default fees claimed by lenders over the past six years.

One of the great successes of modern marketing has been the mass engagement of the population in rewards programmes, says Damien Grant. The most prevalent are Fly Buys. They are awful.