Will Wade reports for the American Banker (subscription required) that Capital One is shutting down two merchant pilots of its decoupled debit card product that was announced last May.

Jane J. Kim writes for the Wall St. Journal about Capital One's changing of interest rates on some of its credit cards from variable to fixed rates. With a fixed rate, any further reductions in interest rates as the result of Federal Reserve actions aren't passed along to the cardholder as lower interest charges.

Capital One has announced the Preferred No Hassles Miles card, a card that it says "offers small business owners double rewards for travel and entertainment purchases."   » Continue Reading

In an article titled 'High-End Cards Fall From Grace', the Wall St. Journal's Robin Sidel and David Enrich report on last week's news from American Express and Capital One about increasing delinquencies in their credit card portfolios. Later this week, other major issuers will report financial results - including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup. Another very large issuer, Bank of America, will be reporting financial results next week.

Over the weekend, the New York Times' Floyd Norris reported on last week's Federal Reserve report about the recent surge in growth in consumer revolving debt.

Capital One has announced the addition of a new “personalized image” feature for its customers. All Capital One consumer credit card customers now have the option to visit the Capital One web site and upload their own photo images – family, friends, pets, or a favorite picture – to be printed on their card, at no cost.   » Continue Reading

Ron Shevlin writes on his Marketing ROI blog about Capital One's Card Lab. Shevlin's verdict? "Card Lab is a winner"

You've probably already seen the ads. Capital One Financial Corporation has announced the launch of the Capital One Card Lab, calling it "a convenient online tool designed to help consumers select from a menu of terms and options to build their own credit card. The Capital One Card Lab site offers an array of options related to interest rate, annual fee, rewards and even the design on the front of their card and allows consumers to select the combination of features that are most important to them."   » Continue Reading

Jane J. Kim writes for the Wall St. Journal about new credit cards from Capital One, Chase Card Services and Discover that offer more "flexibility and convenience" in their rewards programs - intended to make their cards "top of wallet" in terms of consumer preference.

Capital One and NetSpend have announced that "they have mutually agreed to the termination of their previously announced acquisition agreement and that they have entered into a Letter of Intent to expand their existing strategic relationship. As part of the expanded strategic relationship, Capital One intends to acquire a minority interest in NetSpend, a leading retail marketer of prepaid debit cards, along with an option to purchase additional shares of the company. In addition, the parties expect that a Capital One representative will join the NetSpend Board of Directors."   » Continue Reading

Capital One held its Annual Investor Conference yesterday. An audio replay along with accompanying slides are available online.

Paul Wenske writes for the Kansas CIty Star about a Capital One customer's recent experience having the interest rate on her No Hassle Miles Card increased from 9.99% to 15.9%. Wenske concludes: "She plans to collect her awards and drop her Capital One card. Too much hassle."

Jane J. Kim reports for the Wall St. Journal about plans by Capital One to launch a money market account soon that will offer rewards points based upon a customer's average monthly balance.

Capital One has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NetSpend Holdings, Inc., the parent company of NetSpend Corporation, a retail marketer of prepaid debit cards, for $700 million in an all-cash transaction.   » Continue Reading

Capital One and Yahoo! Shopping have announced a partnership "creating the Capital One Saving Zone, a portal on Yahoo! Shopping that offers exclusive deals on select merchandise to Capital One cardholders. At the Saving Zone, Capital One cardholders can receive up to a 40 percent savings on already discounted items, as well as an additional 10 percent off everything they purchase on the site using their Capital One credit card."   » Continue Reading

Broox Peterson shares some of his thoughts in a commentary reflecting on Capital One's recent introduction of a new "decoupled debit" card program.   » Continue Reading

In an article titled 'Chief of Capital One Applies Hockey Strategies to Banking", Eric Dash writes for the New York Times about Capital One chairman and CEO Richard D. Fairbank, also a hockey player and who applies his hobby to the business strategy of Capital One, calling it the Gretzky Concept. Late yesterday, Capital One announced a series of management changes in its banking business.

Cornerstone Advisors' Terence Roche writes for Gonzobanker about the new raid on retail bank revenues coming from the likes of Capital One with its new "Capital One decoupled debit card" product and HSBC/Tempo's new CVS-branded debit card. Earlier this week, we noticed that Sheetz has begun working with Capital One on its new debit card program.

Both of these innovative debit card products ride the ACH rails into the consumer's bank checking account - there's no need for the consumer to switch banks - rewarding the cardholder in the process with a much richer rewards program stimulating higher usage and frequency on the new entrants' cards vs. the bank's own traditional (and most likely unrewarded) debit card. Meanwhile, the retail banker is left with the costs of servicing the ACH-based payment and earns no revenue on the transaction itself.

A time for concern? Seems to us that retail bank payments strategists may want to be updating their board presentations! Read Roche's article and decide for your self!

QSR Magazine is reporting that Sheetz has begun "testing an innovative new program that provides debit card customers with rewards similar to those available to credit customers — The Sheetz Debitz MasterCard" with Capital One. Rewards are available on purchases at both Sheetz as well as anywhere else MasterCard is accepted. This is the first merchant using Capital One's recently announced "Decoupled Debit" product that we've come across.

Aleksandra Todorova writes for SmartMoney about Capital One's new "decoupled debit" card strategy. (See earlier posts on this new Capital One product on Payments News here and here.)

Selena Maranjian writes for Motley Fool about using credit cards abroad - and highlights Capital One's approach of not surcharging international transactions.

The Aite Group has announced a new report titled "The Next Big Thing in Cards: Co-Branded Decoupled Debit Cards" that examines Capital One's recent launch of a MasterCard decoupled debit card - calling it "a major breakthrough in card issuing." Aite Group views the product as squarely taking on deposit institutions, and predicts it will have a long-lasting impact on both the card and banking industries. See also Payments News' earlier coverage of this innovative new product.   » Continue Reading

We spoke last week with Matt Sexstone, head of business development in Capital One's Merchant Client Services unit about their plans to challenge the status quo in the merchant co-brand market. Based on our discussion, Capital One "gets it" with respect to merchants seeking new payments solutions that drive incremental sales and customer loyalty - and has begun offering a unique approach that seems well suited to major retail merchants. Read on for details.   » Continue Reading

Capital One is holding its annual investor conference today. A webcast is available along with copies of the presentation materials. Of particular interest is the Strategy presentation.

Capital One has announced the No Hassle Cash Rewards credit card that "offers (one percent) cash back on purchases without the complicated requirements, confusing language and frustrating expiration periods of other cash back rewards programs."   » Continue Reading

The Wall St. Journal reports that J.C. Penney has "abruptly terminated" Catherine West, its chief operating officer, after being appointed to that position on June 5, 2006. Prior to joining Penney, West was the president of Capital One's US credit card business. Earlier, she had worked in the credit card businesses of First USA Bank and Chevy Chase Bank.

Binyamin Appelbaum writes for the Charlotte Observer about fees imposed by credit card issuers on purchases made outside the US. Some issuers (Bank of America is the example he cites) are charging 3%. Others, including Capital One, don't surcharge at all.

Susan Harrigan writes for Newsday a great profile of Capital One's CEO Richard Fairbank. Harrigan quotes Fairbank: "What my dad ... taught me was, success is not about how much money you make or about promotions and rewards and things like that. Success is about having a quest and pouring yourself into that quest ... and the magical things that are happening on your journey to you and to those that you're sharing the journey with." She goes on to explain how Fairbank's idea to move beyond the "one size fits all" credit card was the key to Capital One's early success...and much more. Read Harrigan's profile!

Valerie Bauerlein reports for the Wall St. Journal on what analysts will be looking for in Thursday's first quarter financial report coming from Capital One - which will be the first full quarter of results including Hibernia Corp. since its acquisition last fall.

This week's Economist includes an article about the metamorphosis of Capital One from monoline credit card issuer to consumer banking, broadly defined, as highlighted by its recently announced plan to acquire North Fork Bank.   » Continue Reading

Capital One Financial Corporation and North Fork Bancorporation have announced a definitive agreement under which Capital One will acquire North Fork in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $14.6 billion.   » Continue Reading

Capital One CEO Rich Fairbank gave a presentation on his company's strategy earlier this month. A copy of his presentation (PDF) is available online on the Capital One web site.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Lazarus writes about a Capital One credit card solicitation he recently received.   » Continue Reading

American Express announced two major bank credit card issuing partnership deals this week: Bank of America and HSBC.

In both deals the removal of each bank from the list of defendants in the litigation American Express is pursuing (re: damages associated with MasterCard and Visa losing the US antitrust case) may have been an important element.   » Continue Reading

Terence O'Hara reports for the Washington Post on Capital One's strategy.

The leaders in any business make their moves before they have to, from a position of strength," Fairbank, Capitol One's chairman and chief executive, said in an interview Friday.

"I guess my definition of bad leadership is when one is making moves when others are making you do it. That's why we made the decision years ago. When [stand-alone] credit card companies were a wildly successful business model, we made a conscious choice to be more than a credit card company."

TSYS has announced the completion of a five year definitive agreement with Capital One to provide processing services for its North American portfolio of consumer and small business credit card accounts.

We are very pleased with the spirit of partnership that we've found with TSYS," says Catherine West, President of US Card, Capital One. "This outsourcing agreement provides Capital One access to TSYS' innovative technology platform and creates the foundation for a long term partnership."

Dean Starkman reports for the Washington Post on Capital One's position as the "only remaining company whose main business is marketing and issuing credit cards."

Its future, analysts say, depends on how well it can achieve growth in its new businesses, particularly auto loans, as the credit card business sags under a saturated market and financially stretched consumers.