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SELECTED NICHE : CREDIT CARDS

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    Banks and other entities with interest on credit cards
    often like waxing lyrical on the supposed many and
    manifold benefits the cards bring to the holder. And
    they have not been unsuccessful.

    The major credit card holders (Visa, MasterCard and
    American Express) handle transactions of over US $ 6
    trillion each year, according to The Economist
    magazine, and more than a third of American adults
    hold at least one credit card.

    But now it may be the time to move on from the cards.
    Online payment systems are beginning to catch on. And
    the mobile phones operators are also giving the
    payment market a long and hard look (Safaricom, a
    mobile operator in East Africa, already allows
    subscribers to send money to third parties by using a
    SMS).

    As for online payments, a Silicon Valley firm, PayPal,
    has become an undisputed leader of online payments,
    and currently boasts of over 150 million accounts
    worldwide.

    Other players who are fast catching on include
    Google's Checkout and MoneyBookers.

    But credit card companies have clout and won't give up
    without a fight. Many online transactions using some
    of the modes mentioned above will still require you to
    "verify" the payment, preferably using your credit
    card information.

    And online payments are not without their risks, and
    many people have lost their money by entering their
    financial information onto some phony websites
    masquerading as the real thing. But as technology
    changes, credit card?s edge on convenience will look
    more and more beatable.