This Week In Credit Card News: China And Your Card Information; Making Cards Less Vulnerable To Fraud

Forget Balloons: China is Coming for Your Credit Cards

Since the Dodd-Frank financial reform law was passed in 2010, an under-the-radar company called UnionPay has been processing debit card transactions in the U.S. thanks to a provision in the bill referred to as the Durbin Amendment. UnionPay was created by China’s central bank in 2002 and is funded by the government. The 2010 law required banks to include alternative networks, including UnionPay, as options for merchants to process debit card transactions. Now, despite the wave of spy balloons being shot down by the American military, the same people pushing the debit card policy want to do the same thing to the credit card market. Giant corporations including Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot. Target and Kroger have teamed up with some U.S. lawmakers to push legislation that would allow UnionPay to process your credit card transactions. [The Washington Times]