It was an area where shops sold either expensive briefcases and credit-card holders or newspapers in various languages, but nothing in between.

Five years ago, only 17 percent of all credit-card holders paid their monthly balances, according to The Nilson Report.

And Citicorp will begin marketing banking services to its credit-card holders in the state.

Three-fourths of the 1,000 debit and credit-card holders who were surveyed said they never left home without a payment card.

Federal law limits the liability of credit-card holders to $50 for unauthorized purchases, and most banks don't even impose that charge.

Most interest rates are declining, but three-quarters of all credit-card holders will not reap the benefit.

The system is intended to work in much the same way that many credit-card holders are kept from exceeding their credit limits.

And consumer groups say the high interest rates, which commonly hover around 18 percent, are the real scourge for credit-card holders.

If it continues to gain momentum, the magazine would give American Express more reach in the second-largest market for its credit-card holders.

(The state where the credit-card holder resides is irrelevant.)