Customers getting in control of their cards

In my last blog post, I talked about a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo card, which gives the customers a choice of using either MasterCard or American Express card for their purchases. I believe this is an example of a broader trend in card issuing - giving the customers more control. Here are a couple of other examples of card issuers giving customers more control: - Control of funding and settlement timing. Chase Blueprint card is a product combining a traditional credit card with debit, installment loan and financial planning functionality. It allows the customer to bucket payments into different categories – for example, everyday payments to be cleared in full or large one-off items to be paid off over time. It also offers tools to assist the cardholder in managing finances, such spending trends analysis and ability to set goals and set up payment plans. - Control of spending patterns and limits. Barclaycard and Orange have implemented the MasterCard’s inControl technology for their contactless card – the first deployment of this functionality for consumer cards. It lets cardholders set personalised controls, such as blocking a transaction made abroad. The customers can also set spend budgets and choose to receive instant SMS alerts or e-mails when these are exceeded. Regulation is also pointing in the same direction - Reg E in the US requires banks to let their customers choose whether they want to use the overdraft facilities on their ATM and one-off debit card transactions or not. I expect to see customers taking more control over their cards in the coming months and years.