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According to the latest statistics from the Federal Reserve Board, the amount of nationwide revolving credit, which is typically associated with credit card debt, declined by $5 billion between July and August, from $827.2 billion to $822.2 billion. This drop, which totaled 7.2 percent, was the same proportion observed in July, and slightly less than June's reduction of 7.5 percent.

Meanwhile, total consumer credit, which includes both credit card debt in addition to other borrowings such as auto loans and mortgages – also known as nonrevolving credit – fell about $3.3 billion. This marked a decline of about 1.7 percent at an annualized rate after the Fed revised its estimate of July's fall up to 2 percent from 1.8 percent. Currently, total consumer debt amounts to $2,414.3 trillion.

This was the result of a 1.2 percent increase in nonrevolving credit, which rose from $1.59 trillion to $1.592 trillion, the Fed said.

In recent months, many consumers have attempted to shed some of their credit card debt, and this may be evidenced in declines so far this year of 8.5 percent and 7.2 percent in the first and second quarters, respectively, the Fed noted. In the fourth quarter of 2009, revolving credit tumbled 12.4 percent.

Banks have been more selective about the kind of consumer to whom they will lend money. Many have boosted minimum credit scores for consumers to qualify for loans for both assets and those which may lead to credit card debt. In fact, most types of institutions, such as commercial banks, finance companies, credit unions and savings institutions all tried to scale back their loan volume, while the federal government made a more concerted effort to help borrowers get access to lines of credit.

However, many financial experts are now wondering if all the declines in consumer credit card debt in recent months are due to Americans being more conscientious about paying off their bills or the high national charge off rates. These have remained elevated even as delinquencies in general fell to lows not seen since the beginning of the recession. However, charge offs have also slowed over the summer.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Citi and GE reached an agreement on the sale of about $1.6 billion of the banking company's credit card debt. However, that is a relatively small amount when compared to what Citigroup wants to free itself from.

The report said Citi Holdings, the banking giant's division in charge of reducing its unwanted loans, securities and businesses, held about $465 billion in assets as of June 30. That includes CitiFinancial North America, the company's biggest consumer finance business. However, the amount has been whittled down by about 20 percent, from $582 billion in the second quarter of 2009, when Citi decided to try to sell or cut down assets that didn't "fit with its banking strategy."

Currently, Citi Holdings makes up about 24 percent of Citigroup, the report said.

The credit card debt Citi sold to GE was taken on using cards it did not issue under its own brand. Rather, they are "retail partner" loans, for which delinquency rates are slightly higher than for its normal accounts. In all, Citi handles retail credit card businesses totaling about $50 billion for a number of large companies, such as Home Depot and Exxon Mobil.

Last month, Citi Holdings also announced it would sell the company's 80 percent share in Student Loan Corp. to Discover Financial for $600 million. It also sold $3.5 billion in commercial real estate loans to JPMorgan Chase in August, and spun off or sold several overseas ventures in Latin America, Japan and Europe.

Many lending giants may have become concerned about the state of consumer credit in America in recent months, as some people have had trouble paying off their credit card debt. While delinquencies – accounts 30 days or more behind – have declined, they're still elevated above levels observed prior to the economic crisis. The same is true of charge offs – accounts 90 days or more behind and deemed uncollectable – though the most recent statistics saw an increase in this type of credit liability for the first time in a few months.

American Express will wage a "multiyear" court battle against the U.S. Justice Department over its suit regarding interchange fees, and the government's allegations the credit network's policies are anticompetitive, an Associated Press report said. In a conference call the day thesuit was filed, vice chairman Ed Gilligan said the company had "no intention of settling this case."

Gilligan added the government's "proposed remedy would promote steering customers from one payment network to another, and that is a one-sided approach that will do nothing to enhance competition," the AP said.

American Express typically charges store owners more for interchange fees than the other networks the Justice Department sued, MasterCard and Visa, the AP reported. As a result, AmEx said merchants will encourage customers to use its competitors to take on credit card debt rather than allow them to pay with a card that would cost the retailer more.

In the settlement, both Visa and MasterCard said they would allow merchants to begin offering customers discounts or rebates for using a particular type of card when taking on credit card debt, the AP reported. However, American Express contends that its policies actually protect cardholders, who tend to be more affluent and take on credit card debt more frequently than other consumers.

"In effect, the government is arguing that we cannot freely negotiate with our merchants about how they treat our card members at the point of sale," American Express general counsel Louise Parent told the AP. She added that contracts with retailers are "intended to shield consumers from pressure by merchants not to use the cards of their choice."

Interchange fees, more commonly known as swipe fees, have been a point of contention between store owners and credit card networks for some time. Even relatively small retailers can pay thousands of dollars per year just to process transactions for their customers. Advocates argue that this leads to higher prices across the board, and negatively impacts those who choose to pay for their purchases with cash.

The study, called the Verizon Payment Card Industry Compliance Report, found that groups that suffered data breaches were 50 percent less likely to comply with minimum security standards than those that did not. In addition, only 22 percent of organizations were PCI compliant at the time of the investigation.

However, data breaches that may lead to fraudulent credit card debt are easily preventable, the report said. While 78 percent of organizations are not compliant with minimum PCI standards, the average group meets 81 percent of all procedures required. In fact, 75 percent were at least 70 percent compliant with testing procedures, meaning more vigilance may be all that's required to meet the lowest level of necessary security.

The study also found there is a correlation between the frequency of data breaches and the problems groups face when trying to become PCI compliant. Of the 12 requirements that make up PCI Data Security Standards, three of them – protecting stored data, tracking and monitoring access to network resources and cardholder data, and regularly testing security systems and processes – cover parts of compliance that are the most vulnerable.

Verizon also found that by comparing PCI assessment data and analysis of data breaches that can result in fraudulent credit card debt, it was able to identify the most popular attack methods used by scam artists. The use of malware and other hacking accounted for the largest portion at 25 percent, but SQL injections were close behind at 24 percent. The exploitation of default or guessable credentials – that is, passwords or login names that aren't changed from software standards or common phrases – was next at 21 percent.

More often, though, data breaches that may result in fraudulent credit card debt for customers or clients are the result of carelessness, such as lost or improperly secured computers or backup disks. Many times even simple encryption software can help to mitigate the threat of identity theft as a result of someone's sensitive personal or financial data being leaked.

Visa and MasterCard could reach a settlement as part of an antitrust suit from the U.S. Justice Department as early as this week over the interchange fees they charge vendors, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. At issue is the way the networks attempt to prohibit store owners from encouraging customers to take on credit card debt with accounts that would carry lower swipe fees. The practice, known as "steering," is technically legal in some circumstances.

The suit comes because the Justice Department deemed Visa and MasterCard's rules related to how merchants are discouraged from these practices related to credit card debt to be "anticompetitive," though the settlements likely won't include any fines because it's a civil case.

In the past, networks actively prohibited store owners from setting minimum amounts for purchases involving credit card debt, though the federal regulations outlawed these restrictions.

But the new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that will stop as soon as possible. According to a report from Fox Business, CFPB boss Elizabeth Warren, just a few weeks after her appointment by President Barack Obama, spoke before 400 members and guests of the Financial Services Roundtable in Washington, D.C., and promised swift action.

Warren vowed to limit confusing language and specifically singled out obscure provisions that may lead to consumers taking additional credit card debt as a result of late fees and or other penalties.

"In fact, there’s a new epithet: fine print," she said, according to Fox. "I understand that some of you call it 'mice type.' Where I come from, nobody calls fine print, hidden fees and surprise penalties 'negotiated contract terms' or 'innovations.' On a polite day, my brothers in Oklahoma call that kind of stuff 'garbage.'"

Warren urged banks to adopt a new approach to credit contracts, the report said. She also suggested that she may be persuaded to lighten regulation if lenders work with her, telling them that their new first principle is "fair treatment for customers."

If her proposals are followed, contracts would clearly spell out all interest rates for credit card debt, penalties, and the gifts or rewards that may come with the card, in addition to any other terms, the Fox report said. These changes are designed to allow consumers to better understand the agreements into which they are entering, and what would happen if they breached that contract.

Warren, who is a Harvard Law School professor, has long been an outspoken critic of lending practices, and her appointment was something against which the banking industry lobbied heavily. Her position was created as part of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that led to the overhaul of many of the federal laws related to the banking and lending industry. Her primary mandate is to ensure that all lenders follow the new regulations, though she has some power to tighten or loosen them as she sees fit.

According to a report from the Treasury Department, it will soon expand its efforts to allow more people who receive federal benefits payments automatically and electronically. Its broadened direct deposit marketing program is tied to its MasterCard Direct Express prepaid debit cards, and may help eligible consumers avoid taking on credit card debt.

While the direct deposit option is currently available to those receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security benefits, it will soon be expanded to people who get payments from Veterans Affairs, the Railroad Retirement Board and other federal benefits programs.

The program's expansion eliminates the need for benefit receivers to wait for their check to arrive and then clear, which will cut down on the amount of time they are without additional funds, and therefore may help them avoid additional credit card debt.

Many consumers have taken on more credit card debt as a means of making ends meet as they ran into financial problems.