Paris Sunset from the Louvre window (Photo credit: Dimitry B)
Banks in the United States might be all for bailouts when it comes to them, but when it comes to the poor they’re not so lenient. However, non-profit banks in France are set up differently and one in particular – the Credit Municipal de Paris – is forgiving the debt of its poorest customers. (more…)
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It was the late 1970’s when the ATM cards first came out, and back then it was the idea that the bank would pay the account holder for using the card. The reasoning was that the user would save them from completing the transaction, which would require a human. (more…)
Anyone who has ever taken out a loan has had to deal with interest. Interest is a double edged sword that can be used either for your gain or loss. Credit cards usually have very high interest rates and over the course of time cost at least twice the amount of money that we initially borrowed. As more interest is piled on, high payments are required to keep us from paying interest on the interest! However, Interest can also be used to our advantage. Anytime we make use of a Money market or savings account, then we begin to accrue interest of our own. Like a credit card, the money invested in the money account will not only continue to generate interest on itself, but on the past interest.
The banking industry often refers to payday loan companies as unworthy. Banks will argue that payday loan companies are designed for low-income people and individuals without established credit.
The truth of the matter is that payday loan companies assist individuals with all different types of income and credit throughout the world. Banks lick their chops on long-term loans and somewhat despise the short-term solution available from payday loan companies. In reality, payday loan companies are taking business away from the traditional bank loans. Banks look at the bottom line and they do not concern themselves with the short-term needs of many borrowers. Many people feel that banks will encourage the borrower to get a bigger loan than necessary. (more…)
Banking can be a very confusing process. Between choosing the right bank, setting up the right account and all the different fees and charge banking may leave your head swimming. Lucky for you, we have some tips that can save you a lot of hassle and clear up some of that banking red tape. (more…)
Leaving your bank is a nightmare as you will have to change all of your account numbers for the bills you pay online and get new checks with the new account information. Banks count on this inconvenience to keep people from switching but there are times when it becomes necessary. For the Farrell’s, the inconvenience of having their account frozen for 10 days for no apparent reason is much more difficult to deal with than switching.
The Farrell’s and many others have had to deal with bank mistakes and in the end many have chosen to try other avenues. While in theory this sounds like a wise choice, most banks are the same, they all make mistakes. Chase was again in the spotlight this past July when they had a man jailed for cashing a check that they issued. It is stuff like this that worries many and it seems that banks barely care. They issue apologies and try to make it right, but to no avail. (more…)
Saving for the future can be one of the hardest things you can ever do in your life as you may be one of the millions of people that live up to their means. Even when we get new jobs and raises, we continue to spend all of our money but do not even think to save any as we are so used to spending the way we do, often wondering why we end up using payday loans. The way many people save is not traditional in nature and includes forced savings through an instrument such as a return on premium term life insurance policy or if necessary, a certificate of deposit. That way it is a one-time savings event and we just leave it alone to collect interest, making sure that you don’t have to be completely disciplined and save a certain amount of money each week or month, which can be difficult to follow. Learning new financial habits is important, but sometimes it is very slow to come when we are used to doing what we do everyday regardless of what we know is truly right.
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Are you unaware or slightly confused in how the banking system works? Many consumers are without even realizing it. This is due to the way banks have been structured in the last few years. The subprime mortgage crisis certainly didn’t help clear up issues we have in understanding banks. To try to help you understand about bank securities and why it is important to have enough, one must first understand how banks work.
The Federal Reserve is the national bank. It is not a public bank that just anyone can use. In fact, the average consumer cannot access the Federal Reserve Bank. The Fed is set up to be the money lender for the top public banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Fanny Mae, etc. In the United Kingdom they have the Bank of England. These national banks set the national interest rate. For example, if the Fed has lowered the interest rate to half a percent in order to make their products more affordable this in turn makes consumer products affordable.
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The financial system in the United States has gone through its ups and downs in recent years including many of the smaller banks going under. A direct result of the drop in the stock market, the real estate bubble and the general way banks make their money, banks have now been under close scrutiny for its practices of charging its customers hefty fees for things that many believe are wrong. Through all of this it has seemed as though many bank executives are still raking in the cash with huge salaries and ridiculous bonuses that are simply unwarranted. As the government started to expose these executives and shed some light on the huge amount of money coming in to the banks, bank regulators stared to come up with new and focused ideas on how to help the average consumer deal with the banks and their greed, thus preventing many from turning to payday loans.
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Funding for your business is an important factor when you finally decided to start one. Regardless of the economic conditions, financing may be difficult to come by for a small business endeavor you wish to work on starting. After you have filed the correct paperwork for your business and have also secured a location in your local area, it may be a good idea to start considering which bank you would like to start working with when it comes time to borrow money for expansion. Merchant cash advances and personal payday loans may be options, but there will be times when traditional business loans will be better for you in regards to their interest and fees, which are lower than alternative forms of funding.
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