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Reports that First Data Corp. may soon acquire its rival Concord EFS Inc. Value of the proposed merger deal between the two consumer-finance middlemen, which was blocked by the United States Department of Justice because it had antitrust concerns; Anticipation of a meeting between government trustbusters and First Data; Speculation about a deal between the two sides; How a settlement could be influenced by the dynamics of the debit-card business at the center of the antitrust dispute; Percentage of the debit-card market the government claims will belong to First Data if the deal goes through; First Data's claim as to how market share should be measured; Discussion of processing signature transactions and payments processed through personal identification number (PIN) networks.

Focuses on a promotion offered by credit card companies to give cash back on purchases during months when consumers do not pay off their monthly balance. Percentage of Americans carrying a balance on their credit cards; Details of rewards-for-balances programs offered by Citigroup Inc's Citibank, Bank of America Corp. and Providian Financial Corp.; How the American Express Blue Card program works; Range of interest rates charged by credit card companies, suggesting the program does not make economic sense for the consumer.

The article reports on the drop in demand for credit as lenders raise the standards in the U.S. as of February 2008. According to the Federal Reserve, consumer borrowing increased to $2.54 trillion while credit-card borrowing gained at a 5.9% pace as demand for automobile loans and other nonrevolving debt dropped to 0.4%. It mentions that the slowdown resulted from lenders being more cautious about lending. Credit card issuer Citigroup Inc. has required higher credit scores for card applicants.