Adam Humphreys created a successful business helping people navigate the Chinese embassy's bureaucracy (in a van parked across the street).
posted by reenum on Jan 4, 2012 - 11 comments

Visa and MasterCard have decided to start selling information about your purchasing history to advertisers. [more inside]
posted by jeffburdges on Oct 26, 2011 - 111 comments

Need a quick and dirty explanation of what the process is like to become a U.S. citizen? Check out this flowchart, courtesy of the Reason Foundation. [more inside]
posted by jng on Jan 10, 2011 - 76 comments

Overcharged for cigarettes. A NH man was charged $23,148,855,308,184,500 for a pack of cigarettes-- a "little" over a quadrillion dollars per cigarette. Jokes about tobacco taxes aside, it wasn't an isolated incident. Numerous Visa customers discovered the same charge. [more inside]
posted by justkevin on Jul 15, 2009 - 97 comments

100 artists from around the world designed credit cards for a Japanese bank and Visa. [more inside]
posted by gman on Nov 28, 2008 - 33 comments

Don't smile or else Johnny Law will get you!
posted by Bag Man on Nov 29, 2004 - 13 comments

British journalist strip searched and tossed in the pokey for the crime of not knowing about a never enforced 1952 law requiring "special" journalist visas. And she's not alone...according to Reporters with out Borders, the US has deported 15 reporters, 10 of those from LAX. Reporters must now provide a letter from their employer detailing their assignment, and the INS gets to decide who is allowed to report, and who isn't.
posted by dejah420 on Jun 8, 2004 - 48 comments

Buy your porn now! In a little over two weeks, you will no longer be able to purchase anything in Ebay's mature categories, or many other forms of online adult amusement, using PayPal. New rules being implemented and enforced by PayPal follow [with a bit of coercion, some claim ] new rules laid down by Visa late last year making it significantly more difficult to sell porn online if you want to accept Visa cards. While it's unclear why exactly PayPal and Ebay are doing this, PayPal and Visa's corner on the online payment market is going to lead to some sort of change in the business of online porn. [all links except "exactly" SFW]
posted by jessamyn on May 28, 2003 - 17 comments

Steven Berkoff deported from the USA for overstaying his visa by 24 hours, five years ago. Such heavy-handed behaviour must be more harmful than good for the USA as a country. Surely the rules can't be so rigid as to force the authorities into doing this, so why do it? Couldn't they just caution, or even fine him? Or has he upset someone?
[via Wibbly Weblog]
posted by southisup on Jul 1, 2002 - 31 comments

Not embedded in your hand, just your credit card. Your Providian VISA with Smart Chip Technology comes with a smart chip that's embedded on the front of the credit card. Soon, a smart chip will let you store information and applications that make shopping easier and more secure. Anyone here a little leary of this kind of "smart"ness? Thoughts?
posted by thunder on Jul 3, 2001 - 23 comments

Visa in Financial Trouble... Can't buy a clue
This takes the cake. Visa is announcing a new Animated Logo with a press release. This animated logo (with sound!) will be played when ever someone makes a wireless purchase with their visa, alerting everyone within earshot of what you are doing. In addition to the animated logo they are staking claim to the newest buzz word to make executives sound stupid: U-commerce.
[via camworld]
posted by DragonBoy on Jan 3, 2001 - 16 comments

Tell me: what websurfing kid is going to go to Visa's site to find this art contest?
posted by jason on Mar 24, 2000 - 2 comments