Researchers predict that more than half of us will own a smartphone by the end of the year, and even people who consider themselves tech-shy probably have an ordinary cell phone in their purse or clipped to a belt. Not just for texting or surfing the net, these devices are at the cutting edge of...

We told you last month how Visa plans to roll out a system that would let people pay each other without cash or checks by using their cell phones. The innovation would let people who wanted to pay their babysitter, for instance, or a colleague who grabbed them coffee simply by accessing their...

Americans aren't thrilled with the way the nation's biggest banks have been piling on the fees lately, and it seems they're looking for an alternative. According to new research from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 51% of respondents to a recent online poll said they would shop for...

We recently told you about a handful of cities across the country where credit card debt has continued to rise, despite the recession. Articles like this one also highlight the cities where revolving debt is highest, sometimes accounting for as much as 17% of the average income in an...

Although economists tell us the recession is over, the drumbeat of bad news in the retail sector continues. Bookseller Borders and gift-basket purveyor Harry & David both recently filed for bankruptcy, and video chain Blockbuster has been working its way through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy since...

Airlines make a lot of their money by selling pricey first-class seats to wealthy travelers. They might need to rethink this strategy, though, in light of a new survey that shows big-ticket travelers are turned off by the quality of the service they receive. According to research by travel-focused...

"Where there's a will, there's a way," the saying goes, but according to estate lawyers and inheritance specialists with whom WalletPop spoke recently, a more accurate version of that adage might be, "Where there's a will, there's a relative holding onto the purse strings in the...

The nation's banks are behaving like the airlines these days: As soon as one implements a new policy or program, others pile on. In this case, a mere week after Chase took the ax to its debit rewards program, news comes that Wells Fargo (along with Wachovia, which it acquired a few years ago) is...

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has gone on a virtual PR blitz recently to talk up his prepaid "Rush Cards" and fight back against the negative publicity that's been attached to these type of cards ever since the Kardashian sisters' fiasco with their Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard gave the American...

Interest is growing around the idea of using your mobile phone to pay for goods and services. Visa recently announced its intention to let people transfer cash to one another using their cell phones, and software developers are working on programs that would turn your phone into a kind of virtual...