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Consumers have likely found that the number of offers for rewards credit cards – and the amount of points, cash back or miles they earn for every dollar of credit card debt they take on using those accounts – is on the rise in recent months.

Rewards credit card benefits have been on the rise in recent months, both for those who are switching to new lenders and those who are keeping their old ones, according to a report from CNN Money. For example, the value of introductory offers sent to would-be borrowers have jumped dramatically, though many now require borrowers to reach certain spending thresholds within a few months of opening the account.

Lenders are also beefing up benefits for current borrowers, the report said. Some are increasing the number of points they earn for every year the account is open, while others grant as much as 50 percent cash back on all rewards earned.

However, rewards credit cards typically also come with higher ongoing interest rates and annual fees that can be difficult for some to afford. Therefore consumers who are attempting to reduce debt may want to look at options related to no-frills accounts with lower rates and no fees.

Consumers concerned about being hit by fraudulent credit card debt may soon have less reason to worry, as the world's two largest card issuers are taking steps to upgrade security.

Visa and MasterCard are now taking steps to improve credit card security by encouraging businesses and ATM owners to upgrade their card reading systems so that they'll accept transactions completed with a new, safer type of card, according to a report from the consumer finance site Bankrate. These companies are trying to encourage the use of so-called "chip and pin" cards – those that store data on a microchip embedded in the card and require the user to enter a code when confirming purchases.

The companies hope to have these changes in place within the next year and a half or so, as MasterCard has set a goal of April 2013 as a date for ATM operators to install systems that allow consumers to use chip and pin cards at these machines, the report said.

Chip and pin is the most common type of credit card by far in a number of foreign countries, leading to some Americans running into trouble finding businesses that can accept their U.S.-issued magnetic strip cards overseas.

In the near future, consumers who use their smartphones loaded with near-field communications technology to handle their credit card debt may be able to earn greater rewards for making purchases on these mobile payment systems.

Google is working to expand the benefits associated with its mobile payment system known as Wallet, allowing consumers to search for, store and redeem coupons for select participating retailers, as well as rack up rewards points, according to a report from CIO Today. A number of major national chains are participating in the expanded service, and several others will soon begin accepting Google Wallet's tap-to-pay purchasing system known as SingleTap as well.

The problem for Google is that currently just one phone available in the U.S. – the Sprint Nexus S 4G – has the NFC technology necessary to complete such a transaction, the report said. It is believed, however, that a large number of NFC-ready devices will soon be available.

Analysts predict that NFC mobile payments will soon become extremely popular, climbing to an annual value of about $44 billion within the next few years.

In recent months, many consumers have worked hard to reduce debt and have increased the rate at which they pay their credit card debt on time, but now experts believe that trend will reverse in the near future.

Since the end of the recent national recession, the rate at which credit card lenders saw borrowers fall behind on payments or have their accounts written off as being uncollectable has plummeted, but as rates reach or approach historic lows, many experts now caution a correction may be in the offing, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. However, it's simply a matter of the rate of improvement being unsustainable, rather than any great shift in consumer behavior.

After all the improvements seen in the last year or more, charge offs and delinquencies are expected to tick upwards over the next few quarters, and then move in concert with typical seasonal fluctuations, the report said.

Many consumers were able to improve the rate at which they paid down their outstanding credit card debt during the recession thanks to more conscientious bill payments and controlled spending.

A number of financial and technology companies are now attempting to convince consumers that they will be better served using their smartphones to make credit card purchases, and an executive from one major credit card lender believes it will take more cooperation to make that happen.

Mobile credit card payment systems are viewed by many in the financial services industry to be the next great frontier in purchasing platforms, and an American Express executive believes that companies will need to work together to make consumer adoption a reality, according to a report from the tech news site CNET.

Currently, a number of tech and financial companies are developing their own payment systems, which may make it more difficult for consumers to participate, particularly if they have several cards issued by different lenders.

By being able to store coupons and create budgets using a smartphone that can also make purchases, consumers may be able to trim the amount of credit card debt they take on and, in doing so, reduce debt for their whole household.

Many consumers who were able to maintain strong credit ratings even as they saw their credit card debt pile up during the recession may have a new way to reduce debt, as a number of major lenders are increasing the size of their promotional offers.

Many of the nation's top credit card lenders, like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo, are now offering creditworthy consumers credit cards with lengthy introductory periods and rock-bottom promotional rates in the hopes of luring customers away from other institutions, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Most of these new accounts will come with a balance transfer fee of between 3 and 4 percent of the total debt.

In the past, low introductory rates were typically extended for between three and six months, but are now considerably longer, the report said. Bank of America's latest offer grants a zero percent rate through June 2012, and Citi's card gives users a 0.99 percent rate through February 2013.

A balance transfer such as this may be beneficial for consumers who want to get out of debt because it will notsignificantly add to their balance for some time.

JPMorgan Chase, the nation's second-largest credit card issuer, is currently working on completely revamping its entire lending business.

Under the direction of its head, Gordon Smith, JPMorgan Chase's credit card lending business has taken considerable strides in the last few years in terms of revamping the way it handles bad debt, deals with customer service issues and markets its various financial products, according to a report from Reuters. The marketing aspect has been particularly important to the company in recent years because of the amount of revenue that can potentially be generated by new customers.

For instance, Chase sent out 1.3 billion offers for new credit card accounts in the second quarter of the year alone, up from about 850 million on a year-over-year basis, the report said. But that strategy seems to have paid off because credit card spending on new accounts rose 53 percent over the last quarter of 2010.

Many consumers may be more comfortable in dealing with credit card debt these days as a larger number of them made efforts to get out of debt and rebuild their finances in the months since the recession ended.

The large amount of changes to the banking and credit card lending industries seen in the last several months are largely a reaction to increased federal regulation, and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury believes that the changes put in place by lawmakers will overcome increased costs for consumers.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently said that he believes the numerous regulations on the banking industry put in place by lawmakers over the last two years will benefit consumers and help reduce credit problems in the end, according to a report from CNN. Currently, the numerous increased charges and tighter lending restrictions are considered a sort of pushback against these regulations – essentially banks testing lawmakers to see what they can get away with.

However, Geithner vowed that the response from regulators will be even more significant if the trend continues, the report said.

Much of the most recent resistance from the banking industry is in response to a new rule that limits the amount banks can charge businesses for processing debit card purchases to 21 cents instead of the previous 44 cent average.

A new rule that limits the amount payment processing companies can charge businesses for debit card purchases went into effect over the weekend, but some say it could eventually lead consumers to take on more credit card debt.

The hotly-contested swipe fee limit is being simultaneously hailed by retailers and some lawmakers as a way to bring fairness and affordability to the marketplace, according to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. Meanwhile, it's also being decried by the banking industry as the sides war over the high cost of processing debit transactions.

"Today, swipe fee reforms take effect and will finally help bring fairness, transparency and competition to a debit card system that for years has operated without them," Durbin said. "The best defense for American consumers and businesses against unfair fees is a transparent and competitive financial marketplace overseen by reasonable regulation."

Some experts worry that banks will attempt to drive consumers toward using their credit cards more often as a result of these changes, as it was recently revealed that Bank of America will begin charging consumers a monthly fee for using their debit card to make purchases.