Loans are hard to get these days, and credit card companies issue credit to ease purchases and allow consumers to delay payment on items. Credit cards allow consumers to purchase items they may not have the cash for at the time of purchase but will have at a later date. Credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard receive revenue from every transaction, typically 2% to 4% depending on the payment method. So they are motivated to increase total volume of transactions, consequently pursue policies to increase number of transactions.

Consumers have watched in disbelief as seemingly recession proof businesses have failed one after another. It should have come as no surprise that eventually the credit card industry would take a turn in the spotlight. Consumer advocates blame these questionable policies for the average American household's credit card debt, which has skyrocketed to $7,430 [source: Consumer Federation of America ].

Students, who often have little or no income, tend to rack up debt (and interest charges)?which is precisely why the credit card companies market heavily on campus. Various companies began to face criticism for placing the school logos on the card, as well as for offering slices of pizza to students who applied for accounts. Students returning to college are finding that student loans have vanished. Retailers who freely extended credit to any customer with a pulse are deploying bean counters armed with sophisticated software to sniff out potential deadbeats.