Thursday, May 28, 2009

Is An Online Savings Account For You

It used to be that there was just one option for those who wanted to open an account for their savings. Most people went to the local branch of a bank and deposited their money in a traditional savings account. You were offered a reasonable annual interest rate and you were happy knowing you had a little cushion at the bank in case any type of emergency should arise. With the advent of the information age, you can now do your banking in a variety of ways.

Conventional banks now offer the bare minimum benefits from a savings account. Most interest rates hover around one to two percent annually. With those rates, keeping your money in a bank won't afford you much additional savings on your money. When you look to open a savings account online, you will be offered interest rates that are much higher. You may be offered an interest rate as high as five percent. When you have your savings account online, you have instant access to your money and can see updates on your balances whenever you like. It will be much easier for you to keep track of your money when you save online.

Sometimes when you open an online account, you may be automatically signed up for a checking account. You don't have to use the checking account, merely keep a small balance and use the account only for your savings. Some banks will require you to have a minimum balance. This amount can range anywhere from $200 to$500. For those interested in opening a savings account, it shouldn't be too difficult to come up with the minimum deposit.

When you decide that you want to open an online savings account, be sure that you proceed with caution when it comes to revealing personal information. Properly activate your firewall and close out of your browser completely when you are done as well as empty your cache. If you are still nervous about your money floating in cyberspace, look for the FDIC logo. This will ensure that your money is protected up to $100,000.

You may experience some inconveniences because the online banking services are not as fast as conventional banking. You may have to wait anywhere from five to ten days to have access to your money. Be sure you arm yourself with a toll free number in case you have any questions that can't be answered online.

When you search for a bank online, compare the interest rates that you will be offered. You can browse many different banks to ensure you get the most for your money. Online savings accounts can save you time and add convenience to your otherwise busy and hectic life.

When you bank online, you can avoid long lines at your local bank, save gas by not having to drive to get there and have access to all your account information right at your fingertips. Banking can finally be done at your convenience and not at theirs.
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Car Loan For Students

A car nowadays is no longer considered a luxury but a necessity. There are many students who want to have their own cars but don't have a source of income. In such a case, it is necessary for them to take on a car loan in order to be able to purchase a car.

Numerous online lenders actually have car loans targeted at university and college students offering loan solutions for those types of people who do not have a steady source of earnings. It is very essential to make a distinction between student car loans that are being offered by your traditional credit unions or banks that may not have flexible terms with those student car loan programs that are easy and flexible for students to actually repay.

Generally, student car loans have a lower interest rate and a repayment term that could be extended in order to afford the students a reasonable monthly installment. To be able to avail of a student car loan, you must be a United States resident and must currently be enrolled in a university or college. If you are searching online for companies that offer student car loans, opt for one that gives a comparison of the various lenders as well as options available that could give you the best package possible.

It is of utmost importance that before selecting a particular lender for the student car loan program, you must have read the terms and conditions. It is not easy when you purchase a car. You have to consider if you can afford the monthly loan repayment as well as other expenses that come along with owning a vehicle like maintenance costs, insurance, etc. Taking on a student car loan though can help increase and improve your credit rating or score if you maintain yourself as a good borrower and payer of your loan.

Student car loans actually have lower interest rates but if you are a student with a bad credit history, the lender may not make you eligible to avail of such an interest rate. It is natural for a student to either have no credit history at all or to incur a bad credit history. However, there is another option for you to obtain a student car loan despite your bad credit history. You can basically take on the car loan with a co-signer. A co-signer is an individual with a good credit history who guarantees for the borrower that he or she will repay the loan in full amount. The co-signer is held responsible in case the student fails to repay the loaned amount for the specified period. Typically, many of the students are able to repay such loans after graduating and finding themselves jobs.

Even if you are just a mere student, you can still have the opportunity to purchase your own car with the help of student car loan programs.
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Understanding Virtual Banking

The technology has helped banks to improve its services and even offer some on a 24 hour basis thanks to the availability of account information, transfer of funds, bill payments and account management services that customers can access online by logging into the their personal page on their bank's website. Customers need a personal and confidential password to log in to the website just like the personal identification number used at the automatic teller machine.

Internet banking has been a welcome option for many customers but quite a number of sceptical customers still prefer to do it the old way. This group comprises those who may not be too comfortable with computers nor with the internet. It has certainly improved the pace at which business is transacted.

Gone are the days when you had no chance of paying that late bill in time because you remembered it when the bank was already closed, you can always get home and pay it electronically. And sending money to a friend or child in need no longer needs to be expensive and time consuming. And we can save the paper and sign less checks or none at all.

It is the growing number of virtual banks that are threatening traditional banks as we know them. Virtual banks offer most if not all their services online and are therefore able to offer customers no charge transactions and higher interest rates. ING and HSBC are good examples of virtual banks.

ING started its operations in Europe and is now established in North America. It is able to offer customers no account fees savings accounts at a higher rate than regular banks, there is no charge either for withdrawals at certain levels. ING also offers very competitive mortgage rates with many flexible options that traditional banks are just catching up to. And most of the services can be done online and completed by phone or by one time paper work.

Although internet banking is a welcome option that makes the lives of customers easier and improves business efficiency, it faces a negative aspect in terms of the chances of fraud. Electronic fraud occurs when criminals get hold of an account holder's details and log in names or password and use their account or move money from the account.

They may do this by hacking which is a way of illegally surpassing a website's security barriers to gain access to confidential information, or they may do so through phishing. Phishing is a practice whereby an account holder receives an email purporting to come from their bank asking them to confirm their bank details like names and passwords. They then use these details to access their accounts.

Sometimes confidential information falls on the wrong hands due to client carelessness; this is something banks cannot control. Banks try to use the latest security technology available to protect their clients.
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All About CDs (Certificate Of Deposits)

When the richest people in the world are asked to give advice about how to earn and retain money, their response almost always resounds with the same principles: Your money should always be working for you, instead of you working for it.

The ideal situation is to put your money into something with a high rate of return. Then, while you are enjoying life, your money is constantly returning more. One option is to put your money in a CD (Certificate of Deposit), which is a type of account offered by many banks. They don't work like regular bank accounts. So if you've been contemplating ways to make your money work for you, read on.

CDs are characterized by being registered for at a fixed amount of time. When you put your money in, you tell the bank that you are going to leave it for a certain amount of time. The most common amounts are 3 months, 6 months, or any amount of years up to 5. The specific interest rate is set at the beginning, and does not change over the period of time.

The money in the CD is held until it 'matures', at which point the customer can withdraw it without bringing about any fees (which are applied if he or she withdraws before the date of maturation).

This may sound like a bad deal, but consider this: since the customer has to put up with having their cash unavailable for so long, they have their diligence rewarded with a particularly high interest rate. This is the aspect that attracts people to using CDs. Since they are offered by regular banks, they are completely insured. This makes them an almost entirely risk free investment, as long as you know you won't need the money.

If you've got a large sum of money sitting around and you're not doing anything else with it, then you should make every effort to put it to work. Some people are not cut out for high risk investments like the stock market. If this is the case, then the calm assuredness of CDs could be perfect for you.

Talk to people at your local banks to find their specific terms and conditions for CDs. Look for things like flexible liquidity, high interest rates, and time periods that suit your needs. Hopefully you will find something that is perfect for your finances, and will put your money to good use.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

Getting a Job in UK Banking

Getting a job in banking can be a drawn out process as recruitment cycles often take up to 6 months and the top banks may look at hundreds of candidates for a single post and go through 2 or more interviewing stages often in addition to a competency assessment. If you already work in banking or the finance sector you may be familiar with the recruitment process and if you're looking for a change of career within banking this article will discuss briefly the best approach to successfully finding a new job.

Agency or direct

At the start of your journey to find a perfect banking job you will usually be faced with 2 routes (although you can take both simultaneously). Whether you should use a recruitment agency to source suitable opportunities for you or go direct to financial institutions with your applications.

Using an agency
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Agencies are widely used in financial recruitment particularly for skilled banking jobs as the recruitment process is a labour intensive one often comprising of weeks of processing under qualified or inappropriate candidates before arriving at a list of high quality potential employees. The banking sector more than most appreciate the added value of dealing with an agency for some or all of their recruitment rather than managing their own extensive human resources based recruitment programme.

Recruitment agency consultants are driven to match the best candidates to the clients banking jobs, usually more so than the person to whom responsibility falls within the client institution- often the HR department or busy heads of department who may not have the required time to properly process high volumes of applications.

For the candidate, using a recruitment agency can also offer some distinct advantages over applying directly to individual companies in response to banking job vacancy advertisements. An agency will be working closely with the banks with a range of vacancies both current and upcoming available. If an advertised vacancy does not prove to be suitable your recruitment consultant will often be able to recommend an alternative position to apply for.

If you have the skills and experience that an agency is looking for they will actively seek out new opportunities for you as they become available, this can take much of the time consuming work out of applying for a new job in banking as agencies will only put candidates forward for positions they feel they are well suited for and capable of obtaining. Agencies can also deal with the initial contacting of the financial institutions and get interviews arranged on your behalf.

Going direct

Many applicants prefer to go direct to recruiters rather than going through a specialist recruitment agency as this allows them to make direct contact with the companies they are applying for and pick their applications based on job vacancies posted by the banking institutions.

The easiest way to find job vacancies if you want to apply straight to a recruiter are to search job listings on online job boards, newspapers and corporate websites. The downside of applying for jobs this way is the time it can take to find appropriate advertisements, approach the recruiter, submit applications and arrange interviews often based on limited information about the position you are applying for.

Choosing an agency

If you choose to use an agency to find you a new job in banking it is important to approach an agency who understand the unique and often specialist nature of the banking industry and have direct relationships with the banks themselves. Banks will often not deal with recruitment agencies whom they do not have a working relationship with due to their HR procedures. So make sure the agency representing you are talking to the banks or financial institutions directly and are on their preferred suppliers lists.

The main advantage of an agency is having an agent working on your behalf so make sure you get on with your agent and you feel comfortable with them representing you in front of potential employers- if an agent expects you to lie about your skills or experience on a CV its unlikely they're working for your best interests.

Writing a CV

The CV is a critical part of successfully applying for banking jobs as its all an employer has to go on when deciding whether or not to invite you to interview. As the people up against you for banking jobs are going to have often very similar skills and experience due to the nature of the industry your CV has to not only be watertight in terms of the information it gets across but also make you stand out from a crowd of other financial experts. Banking is still a formal institution and you resume should reflect this, but some creativity will help to show your character and the effort you've put into your application- think about ways of presenting your CV with a unique personal touch, if you're photogenic a picture of yourself is often a good start (don't forget to smile!).

Again a recruitment agent should be able to help you get your CV up to a standard where they are confident it will be acceptable by the banks and financial institutions whom will be recruiting. There are lots of template CV's and CV writing advice available online by searching for 'banking job CV'.

The interview

Interview skills are a subject in their own right and beyond the scope of this article. There's a lot of things to remember you should and shouldn't be doing in an interview but most of these are common sense things about the way you want to present yourself. The best advice ultimately is make sure you do yourself justice, listen to the interviewers and think about the sort of things they want to hear from you. They want to find out about your personality and character as much as anything else so show you are a person they'd like to work with.

Again a Google search for 'interview tips' will give you plenty of helpful advice and a recruitment agent will also help to prep you before setting you up with interviews.

Good luck finding your dream job in banking.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/
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Earn Money With Free Stuff

Offers for free stuff abound online and most of them are completely legitimate. Although it might be nice to get a free sample of mocha coffee or a free pair of baby booties, what do you really do with all that free stuff? Why not make some cash with it?

Free samples are so prevailing online that you can virtually can order five or six things every day and be getting free stuff in the mail for months! These free samples are available for everything from coffee creamers to baby wipes and antacids. The idea behind them is to turn you onto the products so that you will start buying them, but you can also turn free stuff into cash in your pocket by reselling it.

Let's start with some ideas. If you bundle similar items together, you have the perfect "sampler kit" or gift basket. All you need is three or four related items and you are ready to start. For example, you could put together some baby products, a sample of Dove soap, a couple mini packs of baby wipes, a formula sample and maybe even some talc powder or baby perfume. Put those all in a cute basket along with a bow and cellophane and you have the perfect newborn gift basket.

To create a sampler pack, you need items that are even more similar, like coffee. If you can get eight to ten different coffee samples, they can be packaged together in a neat little box, perhaps along with a mug or creamers and sold as a sampler pack. No one will ever know it was created from free stuff!

Larger free stuff like baby booties and T-shirts can be resold online, on Ebay or Craigslist, for example. If you get put together several T-shirts or other items that are similar, you can sell them on Ebay as a package deal, charging only a few dollars per item. Let's face it after all, this was free stuff, so even a few dollars are pure profit!

Oftentimes, the for free stuff that is actually worth something, like a necklace or a book, you will have to do something in exchange for these items. This might be signing up for an email newsletter or giving some kind of information, but there will be an exchange required. In most cases this is completely worth it since you can resell the item for a small profit.

To get really great free stuff, look for 100% rebates. This means that you actually buy the item, but with the rebate, the cost of the entire item is refunded, leaving you with high quality free stuff. You can find great rebates at places like buy.com, or search for them on Google.

Not only is it fun to get free stuff, but if you can also make money from it, what's stopping you? Start ordering your free stuff today and in 4-6 weeks, you should have all the product you need to get your own free stuff business off the ground!
Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

The Options For Credit Repair

Credit repair today is a thing that is being discussed in various circles and there is no surprise in that because consumer debt today has hit an all time high in the US. There are different options available to you for your credit repair. We discuss a few here.

Personal loans are generally a good option when it comes to credit repair. This is because you can get a loan sanctioned with relatively little paperwork. The loans are sanctioned quickly. And the loan comes with a moderate rate of interest, much lower than what you pay on your dues on a credit card. Also personal loans don't require you to provide any security. So unlike home equity loans you are not risking something very important to you.

The home equity loan is very popular, both with the investor and the creditor. The reasons are simple. The creditor sees that his loan is secured because you are putting your most prized possession on the line. As an investor you will be happy because you will be getting generous interest rates from the creditor. On top of that some tax systems actually give you tax benefits on the interest of your loan if it is under the home equity loan.

But there are definite risks involved with such loans. You are putting your most precious possession at risk and if something goes wrong you will have to do away with your house. You wouldn't even have the option to file for bankruptcy. Therefore you should go for home equity loans only when you are doubly sure about repaying the loan according to the terms agreed to by you and the creditor.

If you are far from retirement, doing well in your job and reasonably in good health, then you can always draw a loan from your retirement account. The interest you pay is low. And the best thing about it is that you lend yourself money and you pay the interest also to you.

Debt Consolidation Services are profit making businesses and you will be paying them at one point of time. Although their ads might read attractive and convincing, that is just about the only thing good about these Debt Consolidation Services. They provide you loans with almost no security. Whenever they do that they would ask for a premium interest. Obviously you will be paying more interest than other options offer you. This should be reason enough for you to stay out of the Debt Consolidation Services and look elsewhere.

How To Refinance Your Credit Card Dues

Plastic money has changed the way we make transactions today. From the department store to the gas station we can make all our payments through our credit cards. Only a few years back there were just a handful of businesses that accepted payments through credit cards. Today everyone seems to be willing. And there are reasons behind such a credit boom. Businesses have realized that people tend to make more purchases on credit than they do when they pay by cash. And this would be because when they are paying in cash they actually feel what they are spending. Paying through credit card is just about signing on a piece of paper and one often loses the sense of how much his credit has added up to.

Interests that you pay on purchases made through credit cards is quite steep and they can be as high as 18%. In certain cases it can be even more. With such high interest rates you can get into the cycle of paying high interests and late payment fees. And if this continues for long you will soon land in a debt trap. So it becomes imperative that you refinance your debt at a lower rate.

So how do you refinance your credit card debts? There are several ways in which you can do that. You can take a personal loan and pay off your credit card debt with that money. Since personal loan has a much lower rate of interest it will be easier for you to pay off that loan. And not only do you save on interest rates. There are quite a few fees that you need to pay regularly for your credit card. You get rid of that need also. The interest rates on personal loans do vary and the variation largely depends on the individual's personal credit history. But no matter what the variation is, it is still much lower than what you will have to pay for a credit card.

Another way you can refinance your credit card dues is to take a home equity loan. Again the interest rates are much lower compared to the rates of a credit card. In fact with this type of loan, rates are lesser than even personal loan interest rates. At such low rates you can make a lot of savings by refinancing the credit card dues.

Secured credit cards are another very popular breed of credit cards. Secured credit cards, as their name suggests, are secured. Well, they are secured for the credit card supplier, really. Secured credit cards require you to open an account with the credit card supplier and maintain some cash balance in that account. This cash balance acts as a security for the supplier of secured credit card. Your credit limit is dependent on the amount you hold in the account that you have started with the supplier of secured credit card. This is generally between 50 to 100% of your account balance. So in that sense, secured credit cards are not really credit cards (since they don't offer you any credit really). For this reason, the secured credit cards are sometimes also referred as debit cards.

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Consolidating Student Loans Can Be A Great Decision

Student Loan Consolidation may be the best decision for a lot of you out there and here are some benefits that you can find from getting your loans consolidated. One of the first benefits is that you could save potentially thousands of dollars in student loan interest fees during the period in which you have the loan.

This can be done by locking in some solid fixed interest rates so that you can spend that money on other bills in your life instead of spending a lot of your income on a student loan for college.

This can be a great decision coming out of college because let's be honest you are looking to start your life and you want to make a solid income and not have to worry about your hard earned money going into paying more student debt. Another option is to take the money and put a down payment on a house or to start a business and invest into overhead for your business opportunity.

Allow for your money to work for you instead of having to pay off more interest and debt. You can create a tax-deductible opportunity here by consolidating your loans and save a lot of money come tax season. Another option that you have is that you can earn an even lower interest rate through deferment or forbearance options.

It can be extremely difficult coming out of college with a mound of debt and trying to pay the monthly bills at the same time. All of life's experiences can be a huge challenge to a young person trying to find their way in life.

It is so important that you are not running in circles with your financial situation in life and you are able to enjoy a lot of the blessings that life gives you with your family. Many also offer no prepayment penalties so you can pay off your loans a lot sooner and dig into the principle debt instead of worrying about years and years before it is finally paid off.

You got a college degree to get good earning power to take care of that useless debt. Let's be honest the last thing you want to do is worry about helping your kids with student debt while you are still paying off your own student loans. This could be an intelligent way to teach your kids on how to deal with debt for their future education that they will have to deal with.

So look at your options, a student loan consolidation program isn't for everyone, but it can help out if you find yourself in a deep hole and you find the right company to help you out. Beware that there are companies out there that are looking to back you into a corner and force you to pay high interest rates using predatory lending techniques. You can avoid this by reading the terms and conditions and making sure that you are working with a company that out for your best interest.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/
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Sick of Paying Bank and Credit Card Fees? Here's How to Avoid 3 of the Most Common

Banks, credit card companies, and other businesses love to charge you fees for violating their rules. Whether it's late fees, ATM fees, check stop-payment fees, overdraft fees, bounced-check fees, or any other fee, businesses are determined to get every dime out of you they possibly can. But there are ways you can avoid paying these fees. You just have to be shrewd. Here's how to avoid paying three of the most common fees.

(1) ATM Surcharges -- Any time you use an ATM that doesn't belong to your bank, you're going to pay for it. Sometimes the charge is only a dollar. But it can be as high as $4 or more, depending on the bank. And sometimes your own bank will charge you for using another bank's ATM. That makes for a really expensive withdrawal.

How to Avoid -- The best way to avoid these fees is to plan ahead and withdraw money from an ATM your bank owns. But you do have another option. Many grocery stores, drugstores, and discount stores (such as Wal-Mart) will allow you to get cash back from the register when you use a debit card to check out. The bank you use typically won't charge you for these transactions.

(2) Credit Card Overdraft Protection -- Many banks offer a credit card to protect you from overdrawing your checking account. But the protection comes with a price. While the fees are usually cheaper than overdraft charges, they're still expensive. Most of the cards will charge a fee each time the protection is used (up to $20 per transaction). And they count the transaction as a cash advance, which almost always carries a higher interest rate. To make matters worse, the transaction begins to draw interest the day it's made. There is no grace period.

How to Avoid -- The most obvious way to avoid this is to keep enough cash in your checking account to make sure you never overdraw the account. If that's too difficult, put some money in a savings account and set it up as your overdraft protection. Just make sure you put the money back as soon as you can. Otherwise, you'll deplete your savings.

A Word of Caution -- Many banks will charge you a hefty fee for overdrawing your account. And they'll charge the fee each time you do it. So if you use a check card or debit card to purchase small items, such as coffee or meals, each purchase that overdraws your account will rack up another $30+ charge to your account. Before you know it, you're charged $150 without even trying.

(3) Credit Card Late Payment Fee -- When you use a credit card, you have to make a payment by the due date. If you don't, the credit card company charges a huge fee (up to $39), and it damages your credit report. Even worse, credit card companies do everything they can to make you late for your payment. For instance, they have the due date on Sunday. But the company is closed on Saturday and Sunday. So the payment is actually due on Friday. If you plan to have your payment arrive on time, the mail won't arrive until Monday -- and you get slapped with a late fee. They also change their mailing address with no warning. If you make payment using auto-bill pay, you'll mail the check to the wrong address. And the company won't give you credit for the mistake.

How to Avoid -- If your bank offers a bill-pay feature, see if it also accepts electronic bills directly from your credit card company. If so, you can sign up for electronic billing and then set up your payments to be paid either immediately upon receipt of the bill or by the payment due date. Either option will allow you to avoid late charges. If electronic bill-pay is not an option for you, you'll need to make your payments early or get rid of your credit cards and use cash only. Actually, there's one other choice, but not many cards offer it. Some credit cards will let you sign up for the company to withdraw the full amount due on the due date from your checking account. I don't like the idea of giving them access to your checking account, but it's usually better than paying late-payment fees.

Debit Cards vs Credit Cards

This article highlights the differences and comparative advantages and disadvantages of the two types of popular plastic money on offer in India.

The basic difference between the two is the fact that a credit card takes the form of a personal loan from the issuing bank to the consumer, while a debit card is more like a cheque: money is directly deducted from a person’s bank account to pay for transaction.

Some advantages of a credit card over a debit card are:

With a flexile spending limit, a cardholder can take advantage of the easy loan facility of a credit card, and can use it to purchase items or spend money that he expects in the near future, not just money that he presently has in his account.
Most of the major features of a debit card such as withdrawal of cash from ATMs are available on credit cards as well.
A credit card has a wider acceptance and recognition, especially in online transactions.
A credit card has greater security measures ad checks than a debit card.
Credit cards allow for cash back and bonus points schemes that a debit card is not eligible for.
A credit card can be used as a convenient way to check and record your spending.
Since there is a fixed credit limit, a cardholder cannot overstretch his purchases.

The disadvantages of using a credit card: Following are the disadvantages of Credit card
The major one is the hidden costs of a credit card in the form of late payments, transaction fees, fuel surcharge. The consumer must take all of this into account before getting a card issued.
It is not compulsory for the entire balance to be paid, but the interest is charged on the entire amount, regardless of the part paid. This causes a debt trap for the cardholder.
The security of a card is not total and cases of fraud are extremely common even today.
Credit cards can be used at ATM cards, but there is a considerable processing fee required.

All in all, a credit card should be used responsibly and the amount due should be paid in full.

Debit cards provide access to ready money in a more convenient and less invasive form than cheques, and allow for a faster withdrawal of cash.
They can be used by people who do not qualify for a credit card, and the major advantage is that a person spends money that he actually possesses from his bank account.
A debit card can be used to withdraw money from an ATM with no processing charge. A debit card is a more convenient way of carrying cash around.

The disadvantages of the debit card:
There are almost no security measures and a person can use a debit card to clean out the cardholder’s account, if he knows the PIN.
A debit card does not prevent the account from being overdrawn, and has less affordability than a credit card.
A debit card also has a narrower acceptable area in India, with many merchants not accepting it since they are charged a fee every time they do.
The major problems of a debit card are negated by instant notifications of transactions via sms and emails. A credit card or a debit card are both useful tools that must be used carefully and sparingly to maximize your advantage.
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Credit Cards for Students

The credit card market today is expanding to include undergraduate and post-graduate students under its umbrella. There aren’t many options for this type of card at present; many of the banks have been adapting their low-interest and lower-end cards for students’ use. The student credit card market is a fledgling one at present, with banks using models from the USA for their own adapted cards.
Features:
The most important feature of a student credit card is that there is no lower income eligibility limit, which allows even a person who doesn’t earn money to obtain a credit card.
Such credit cards are simpler to obtain than normal credit cards, with no income tax returns required. The only documents required are proof of residence and proof of enrollment at any institute.
A second major feature of most student credit cards is that they offer a lower cash limit and revolving credit limit, along with a lower service charge on the revolving credit limit.
Finally, there is no joining or annual fee, and the car is generally valid for a period of 5 years, and eligible to students who are 18 and above.
Warning:
A problem with student credit cards that has arisen in the USA, and which we would do well not to emulate is when credit card companies encourage students to use the student card to pay off their student loans. This plunges them deeper into debt, and often students are unable to pay back the loans on the credit card. The credit card companies compensate for a low monthly interest fees with an unusually high annual percentage rate, so the bills on a student card should be paid on time and in full.
NextGen Gold Visa Card:
A good example of a student credit is the Bank of Baroda’s NextGen Gold Visa Card, which is a card exclusively for students offering low interest rates as well as the primary features of their standard Gold card. The card is a prime example of a characteristic student credit card; 1.5% revolving credit service charge as opposed to 2.5%, and a higher APR.
Reminder:
Three things that a student must remember before obtaining a student card:

The card should be used for small purchases, not for any extravagant items.
The bill should be paid in full before the end of the year, otherwise the high APR kicks in.
The details and offers of the card should be studied in full before a card is purchased, with special emphasis on the APR and the late payment charge.

Debit Cards vs Credit Cards

This article highlights the differences and comparative advantages and disadvantages of the two types of popular plastic money on offer in India.

The basic difference between the two is the fact that a credit card takes the form of a personal loan from the issuing bank to the consumer, while a debit card is more like a cheque: money is directly deducted from a person’s bank account to pay for transaction.
Some advantages of a credit card over a debit card are:

With a flexile spending limit, a cardholder can take advantage of the easy loan facility of a credit card, and can use it to purchase items or spend money that he expects in the near future, not just money that he presently has in his account.
Most of the major features of a debit card such as withdrawal of cash from ATMs are available on credit cards as well.
A credit card has a wider acceptance and recognition, especially in online transactions.
A credit card has greater security measures ad checks than a debit card.
Credit cards allow for cash back and bonus points schemes that a debit card is not eligible for.
A credit card can be used as a convenient way to check and record your spending.
Since there is a fixed credit limit, a cardholder cannot overstretch his purchases.

The disadvantages of using a credit card: Following are the disadvantages of Credit card

The major one is the hidden costs of a credit card in the form of late payments, transaction fees, fuel surcharge. The consumer must take all of this into account before getting a card issued.
It is not compulsory for the entire balance to be paid, but the interest is charged on the entire amount, regardless of the part paid. This causes a debt trap for the cardholder.
The security of a card is not total and cases of fraud are extremely common even today.
Credit cards can be used at ATM cards, but there is a considerable processing fee required.

All in all, a credit card should be used responsibly and the amount due should be paid in full.

Debit cards provide access to ready money in a more convenient and less invasive form than cheques, and allow for a faster withdrawal of cash.
They can be used by people who do not qualify for a credit card, and the major advantage is that a person spends money that he actually possesses from his bank account.
A debit card can be used to withdraw money from an ATM with no processing charge. A debit card is a more convenient way of carrying cash around.

The disadvantages of the debit card:

There are almost no security measures and a person can use a debit card to clean out the cardholder’s account, if he knows the PIN.
A debit card does not prevent the account from being overdrawn, and has less affordability than a credit card.
A debit card also has a narrower acceptable area in India, with many merchants not accepting it since they are charged a fee every time they do.
The major problems of a debit card are negated by instant notifications of transactions via sms and emails. A credit card or a debit card are both useful tools that must be used carefully and sparingly to maximize your advantage.

Credit Card Hijacking by Identity Theft

Identity theft is the stealing of another person’s identity and using it as your own. Personal information is stolen by identity thieves through various sources, and used to make credit cards and other identity documents. Fraudulent credit cards are the most common result of identity theft. There are various ways in which thieves gather details of someone’s identity. The most common methods are listed below:
Retrieving information from redundant equipment which has been disposed of carelessly, e.g. at public dump sites, information given away without proper sanitizing etc.
Stealing payment or identification cards, either by pick-pocketing or surreptitiously by skimming through a compromised card reader
Eavesdropping on public transactions to obtain personal data
Stealing personal information in computer databases

Advertising bogus job offers (either full-time or work from home based) to which the victims will reply with their full name, address, CVs, telephone numbers, and banking details

Browsing social network sites, online for personal details that have been posted by users.

These methods allow thieves to gather a surprising amount of information and get a credit card issued in your name. The net results of such a measure are disastrous. Vigilance and discretion must be exercised in keeping personal details from being stolen.

Credit Card Hijacking by Cancellation Barrier

Another common form of credit card hijacking is used by subscription companies, the payments for whom are routed through a credit card. The organization creates certain barriers that make it difficult for a credit card user to cancel his subscription easily, and as such continue to charge him for services he no longer desires or needs. This is in direct contrast to the traditional method of subscriptions, where the subscriptions have to be proactively renewed, and are cancelled or suspended if payments are not on time. The credit card makes the user’s money more easily accessible to the subscription company, and the liability resulting from inactivity falls on the user’s shoulders, rather than the company that is providing the service.












Also, since the general monthly cost is low, such practices can go unnoticed for months at a time. Hence, the user must maintain a close eye on his monthly bills.

Credit Card Hijacking by Negative Option Billing

Negative option billing is a business practice in which goods or services are provided automatically, and the customer must either pay for the service or specifically decline it in advance of billing. Thus, if the user makes no response to the bill sent by the company, he is assumed to have agreed with the transaction and the amount is debited from his credit card. This is a practice which is not illegal yet, and many credit card users have been exploited because of such tactics.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card_hijacking

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_theft

Credit Cards for Small Businesses

Small business owners who need a quick cash inflow, but are unsure where to borrow from, should consider using a credit card. Business credit cards represent an easily accessible source for a loan, although the availability is offset by the high risk incurred in doing so. However, despite the dangers, there are countless examples of a credit card being used as a financing source.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin's start up of Google was financed by credit cards to buy the necessary computers and office equipment and a terabyte of memory, to start the search engine. Filmmaker Robert Townsend and Director Kevin Smith have used credit cards to finance various movies. Famed hedge fund manager Bruce Kovner began his career (and, later on, his firm Caxton Associates) in financial markets by borrowing from his credit card.

Taking note of such trends, credit card companies offer business credit cards that can be used for financing various projects, and also for the day-to-day running of the business. Visa and MasterCard both offer credit cards that allow business expenses to be charged to them, and easy access to secondary and add-on cards with the same features. Such cards offer reward points, air miles and other fringe benefits as an incentive for using them. They have low-interest rates, to increase sales and offer small businesses a way to cut down on operating costs, as well as providing a speedy method of emergency cash injection.

Another advantage of business cards is that they allow the owner to track his employees’ spending, and also makes his accounting more efficient and easier to manage.

However, business owners who borrow on plastic should strive to use their business credit card for monthly expenses and pay off their balance in full each month. Also, they should make sure to check their account summaries regularly. They should also generally use only one business card at a time, as it sometimes becomes difficult to pay off several balances.

Business owners and administrators should consult issuing banks or financial institutions about the feasibility of a credit card for their business.

Source

http://www.businesscreditcardsite.com/why-business-credit-cards-are-useful-to-your-business/

http://www.businesscreditcardsite.com/10-valuable-tips-about-business-credit-cards/

www.creditorweb.com/categories/business-credit-cards.html

Hidden Payments

Merchants who accept credit cards must pay a processing fee ranging from 1- 6 % of the purchase price. These hidden costs and hidden payments are transferred to the consumer in various ways.

The first method is the most commonly accepted one of a surcharge on the payment, leading to the price being higher than the marked price. The problem has been compounded in India, where the credit card companies have not asked for “merchant agreements”, which provide that the processing charges will not be added on by the merchant. This has led to credit cards being used less frequently than they might be, a disadvantage to the issuer as well as the merchant.

A second method is simply marking up of the prices of all items in the shop, leading to the surcharge being hidden in the retail price. While the MRP does restrict this to some extent, the net result is that people who pay in cash are paying as if they were using a credit card. Thus, a part of the revenue earned by the credit card companies comes from people who do not even own a credit card!

The flip side is, with the boom in the credit card market in India, greater volume of credit card sales allow the merchants to keep their existing price structure, and still not lose any profit on paying the processing fee, since the credit card companies have relaxed their rates, as a measure to boost sales and increase the acceptability net. . Credit cards also allow for convenience in repeat sales, and the processing fee is greatly offset by the increased convenience. Also, the processing fee is simply an equivalent payment to the costs incurred in counting, transporting and depositing the cash payments.

Whichever way you look at it, using a credit card can entail certain hidden payments consequences of which must be closely examined before using a credit card.

Source:
Wikipedia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR2007030802178.html
Statutory Instrument 1990 No. 2159: The Credit Cards (Price Discrimination) Order 1990

History of the Credit Card

The concept of using a card for purchases was invented in 1887 by Edward Bellamy and described in his utopian novel Looking Backward. The first version of the credit card was used in the 1920s, in the United States, as an alternate means of paying for petrol. In 1938 several companies started to accept each other's cards. It was not until 1950 that Ralph Schneider and Frank X. McNamara suggested that credit could be used for variegated transactions, in order to consolidate multiple cards. The Diners Club card, which was created partially through a merger with Dine and Sign, was the first of such general purpose charge cards and was called a Charga Plate. It was different to contemporary cards in that it required the entire bill to be paid with each statement; it was followed shortly thereafter by American Express and Carte Blanche. Bank of America created the BankAmericard in 1958, a product which eventually evolved into the Visa system ("Chargex" also became Visa). MasterCard was inaugrated in 1966 when a group of banks started the MasterCharge scheme. It was also the year when the first non-US credit card was issued by Barclays’ Bank in the UK.

At the time, there was no rapid method of communication between banks in different regions, and credit cards allowed travelers to procure credit, even when they were far from their local bank facilities. Credit cards became very poplar in the USA, UK and Canada.

In contrast, many cultures were much more cash-oriented and had developed alternative forms of cash-less payments, like Carte bleue, or the EC-card (Germany, France, Switzerland, among many others). In these places, the uptake of credit cards was initially much slower. It took until the 1990s to reach anything like the percentage market-penetration levels achieved in the US, Canada or UK. Till date, In many countries credit card acceptance still remains poor due to the lack of trust in the banking system of the country.

There are now countless variations on the basic concept of revolving credit for individuals (as issued by banks and honored by a network of financial institutions), including organization-branded credit cards, corporate-user credit cards, store cards and so on. The credit card has had a rapid and eventful history, and is fast replacing paper money as the most popular means of payment in our cities today.

Source
En.wikipedia.org
PBS Documentary “Secret history of the credit card”

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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