Subprime Borrowers Find It Easy To Get Credit Cards

America now has the greatest number of credit card carrying consumers since 2005, according to a TransUnion report. More than 171 million consumers had access to a credit card at the end of the first quarter. Nearly 22 million additional consumers were able to use plastic early this year compared with 2010. The rebound in credit card access--and credit card debt--has been fueled, in part, by lenders easing credit to higher-risk consumers now that the economy and jobs picture have improved. The rate of growth for subprime consumers was 8.9% in the first quarter of 2017, a much faster clip than other risk tiers. [The Detroit Free Press]

New app may help you from using your card if you've had one too many. Photo credit: Shutterstock

New App Will Stop You Using Your Debit Card While Drunk

A new mobile payments system promises to help users from overspending when they're drunk. DrnkPay, developed by financial services consultancy iBe TSE, is an app that connects your credit and debit cards to either a breathalyzer or biosensor. Users set up the app by selecting how many drinks they plan to have, which DrnkPay converts to units of alcohol. Then, before every purchase, users have to blow into the breathalyser, finding out how close they are to their limit they are before they get to the bar. Those who don't want to carry a breathalyser around can opt to use a biosensor wristband, which measures alcohol diffusion through the skin. [The Telegraph]

Profits From Store-Branded Credit Cards Hide Depth of Retailers' Troubles

Department stores and big name retailers are making the push to sign up customers for credit cards when they come to the register. The store cards promise deep discounts, and are tough for shoppers to resist. For some retailers, those credit cards are not just a sales tool, but also an essential way to bolster their struggling businesses--a trend that has concerning implications for the industry and its customers. The store cards can have steep interest rates that are often twice that of the average credit card, generate a rich profit stream for retailers at a time when many retailers are losing the battle for sales against Amazon and other e-commerce rivals. Those profits on plastic are helping obscure the true extent of the industry's pain, a major pressure point for a piece of the economy that employs one in 10 Americans. [The New York Times]

Spotify Partners With Capital One To Offer Half-Price Premium Subscriptions

In an effort to grow its paid subscribers base, Spotify announced a partnership with Capital One that will offer Spotify customers half off the price of their Spotify subscription if they pay with a Capital One Quicksilver or QuicksilverOne cards. The year-long partnership will conclude at the end of April 2018 and will be applicable to all the Premium tier memberships Spotify offers. This includes the standard Premium membership which is $9.99 per month, as well as the student and family plans. [Tech Crunch]