Credit-Gas Theft, Fraud Epidemic; Credit-Cardless Online Shopping Gets Easier

There are a lot going on in the credit card industry, from credit card and gas related theft and fraud to online shopping without credit cards.

Forbes reports on each of this credit card news. First, there is a fast spreading epidemic in the credit-card and gas-station industries where thieves are pumping gas illegally for profit. Meanwhile, a new Swedish checkout service allows people to shop online without using credit cards.

Owners of gas-stations and the credit-card industry are now protecting their business using sophisticated software and other complicated padlocks to prevent fuel and credit card theft and fraud. Other merchants will put their defensive equipment by October 1, while some credit card companies' tougher guidelines for gas stations will only work by 2017. This delay increases the number of fraud at gas stations. This epidemic started when massive amounts of credit-card data were stolen online by hackers. According to The Wall Street Journal, pumps are the best targets for these credit card frauds since these business establishments are usually unattended.

After the bad news with the credit cards, Fortune reports some good ones. Online shopping is now easier as Swedish checkout service Klarna came up with a way to let shoppers buy stuff online without credit card last Tuesday. Upon checking out, the service lets users type in their email address, shipping address, or phone number. Based on the data provided, the service will decide whether it will extend credit for the user. Customers will be given 14 days to pay the credit. Customers who fail to pay during that timeframe will be issued a warning. Those who fail to pay will get late payment fees or will have to work with debt collection agencies.

Presently, Klarna handles 10% of all e-commerce transactions in Northern Europe. It recently struck a deal with 15 American retailers.