U and your Credit Card

We can see that most of the people are using credit card for their regular use of life. In every place where ever we deal with money on that point of time we use our credit card. We like to keep credit card with us as we know that its very comfortable and safe.

Today, we can see many credit card services available in our market with their various proposal and scheme but there are also lot of scam present in the market. If , we want to take any credit card then we should know every details about the credit card service because its matter of money. Everyone want a secure credit card as no one want to include in scam of credit card. I have collected some basic information about how can you get secured credit card, Which I have mentioned in this article.

There are lot of credit card services available in our market but make sure the credit card which you apply is associated with a prime logo which belongs to big companies like Master card, Visa etc. So, the logo is one of the major point for any secure credit card.

There are different kind of scheme are available on credit card and rate of interest is one of the scheme. You should research about the interest rate of credit card and always make sure that you won't take those credit card in which you have to pay every month and others additional rate. Those credit card services are secure, who are charging fees either a one time fee or an annual fee. You will also find some credit card services who waive your fee for first year.

We should search all the review or feedback about the credit card which are present in the market. We should check different opinion of other people and what they think about the card. We can get all the information of different people from the Internet.

Always remember, Those card which are belongs to Public savings, Capital One, Orchard Bank etc. They are very much safe and secured.

So, all these are just basic information about how can you get the secured card from the different credit card services which will be helpful if you are little bit confuse about the credit card.

Auto Insurance

We can see that most of the people depend on their car to travel from here to there and now a days its common in our environment. The amount of any car, bus etc is not a small amount and whenever we buy any car on that time we have lot of desire to use that car but if suddenly due to any accident, our car may get damage or may someone steel our car then we have to face a major loss as I said that price of car is not small. So, we should always seek a option by which we can solve this problem and yes, there is solution and that is auto insurance by which we can solve such kind of problem. Of late, auto insurance is very common and most of the people avail this as they know that if they will do auto insurance then after any car damage at any accident on that time they can claim the amount of the policy and they don't need to face a major loss regarding their car.

In auto insurance there will be many policies by which we can get relief from this kind of problem.In auto insurance we just need to pay a particular amount as a premium by which we can live complete tension free. We should contact with auto insurance advisor or agent with whom we can discuss many policies and as per our requirement we can choose that policy. Internet is also another option by which we can get auto insurance information.In Internet, there are many auto insurance advisor where you just need to check all the information about the auto insurance. You can also check that what will be your premium as per different auto insurance policy. You should choose a correct auto insurance policy in which you are in comfortable. In this way auto insurance will help you to live tension free with your car.
The main purpose of this article is only to know the people that there is a very important role of auto insurance in our life who are with their valuable car.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

A reader ask me what kind of roles are good for him to start a banking career. Well, it all depend on the person, such as interests and skill sets.I have a link from the RBC. You simply answer three questions and it will help to find a right fit for you. RBC one of the "Best Workplaces in Canada" RBC among Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures RBC recognized as one of Canada's Top 100

Student debts solution

We can see that everyone want to get higher education in their life and for that they have to attend their college or university degree but it won't be complete if you don't have sufficient money therefore there are lot of students who take loan but due to unable to pay their loan they surround with student debts.

We can see in many news papers about the situation of students debts. There are many massive student debts over a three or four year degree and main point is that after graduation the workforce salary of some particular subject cannot support the accumulated student debts. There are many solutions available for the method by which students repay their student loans. We know that no body can stop the time and when it comes to repayment it behave same. The longer the loan is outstanding then the more interest you will definitely owe which will increase total costs. So, we should choose the correct plan depend on the financial condition and there should be desire to clear this debt.

There is a Standard Repayment schedule will pay off the loan within a few years with monthly payment plan. The monthly payment will depend on the total money owed.

There is another plan as well which is based on your monthly payments on your income and family size. This plan is called Income based repayment plan.

This two are the small example for the method by which students repay their student loans but the best way to reduce the cost of a student loan is to borrow as little as possible. If you are in the repayment status then try to pay as much as you can afford each month because if the sooner you can pay off the loan ,the less interest you will pay overall.you should pay on time to avoid late fees, penalties and bad credit reports. It is sure that if you will choose the repayment plan that works best for you and managing it responsibly then finally you can end your long-term relationship with your student loan.

Business Bank Loan

The demand of business bank loan is very high as we know that if we want to run our business then we need a big capital and that can only get by bank loan. It is simple that if we will think about any business then we need lot of things for run that business such as phone system, office supplies, computer, fax line for the new phone system, fax, printer and so on.Even, If you have got all the equipment there is also requirement of some software which can get expensive depending on what is that you are doing. So, this is the portion where you are getting list of all things by which you can run your business but there is another vital thing about the location or site of your business that is address of your business office. It depends on you that from where you will work. If you decide that you will start your work from home then you don’t need to pay for the rent of office but you may decide that you will start your work from outside that means you have to rent an office or at least a portion of an office which will be your office address. So, if we want to run the business then we have to fulfill all the requirement which mentioned and for which we need a capital then we approach for a banking loan.
You need to understand that when you are starting a business there is the temptation that you want to get everything at once and as soon as possible including bank loan. If you are new to business then you will understand that it is more complex than just getting together your office equipment. You will face many inevitable hurdles and obstacle in this road but our mind should be set up with preplanned about your business.
If you want to apply for business bank loan then before that you should know that those who have been in any business for some length of time and have a document record they get preference in such kind of business loan. If you don't have proven track record then you need find a generous lender.

Insurance is the key factor for happy life

We love our life and life is associate with many relation which is uncountable. There will be your parents, siblings, spouse etc and many relation. We always think a fortunate for our family. We think about them, we care about them and we tie in one knot forever. This kind of love happens in a family and we always think about the security about them but one thing we should also we know that anything can happen at any time in our life. Now a days, we can see that there are many accidents happen in our surrounding. It is obvious that we are aware of this and we live conscious as much as possible, instead of this we can't take any surety that we will be safe all time. If something wrong happens with anyone like accident or and kind of dangerous disease then it becomes very unfortunate. On that point of time we need to take him or her in hospitals etc as per situation and we know that a big amount is require to cover it. So,on that point of time, suddenly we need a big amount. Those who are millionaire they don't have any problem to recover it but others who suddenly can't afford this amount they have to face a major problem.Insurance is one of the best path for them who can not afford that much of amount suddenly as we know that in insurance we get life cover policy, different kind accident policy or mediclaim by which we can claim our insurance. In insurance, we just need to give some premium in specific period basis as per your insurance scheme after that you will completely live without any kind of tension as you know that you have a insurance policy. So, the main purpose of this article to aware all people about the insurance that how insurance policy help us to live a life without any kind of trouble. As I said that we can't say that what will happen in our another day. So, we should take precaution as we know “precaution is better than cure”.

Will Apple put the F back into NFC

The industry has now been waiting for quite some time to see the handsets that will make the dream of near field communication (NFC) possible. For a long time this was more like a no contest (NC). It is not like we do not see the benefits of tap-and-go. If all handsets were properly designed and NFC was available like blue tooth and WiFi, life would have been a better place.

This is why it was such interesting news when Apple announced the appointment of Benjamin Vigier (a NFC experts and one of the best guys in the industry) (Read here). Benjamin has been working on NFC technology since 2004 and was responsible for the Starbucks NFC project when he was with mFoundry, so he is pretty experienced in this space. It is unlikely that he was hired for anything else. Does this mean that we will now see life change?

Well for a start, let us agree that anything that Apple does, one should take seriously and Apple have a number of good tools in place to make this happen. However, they are still confronted by the two key stumbling blocks in making this real and I would be interested in their strategy in how to overcome this:

• How to cater for the secure element, especially from a personalisation perspective.
• What to do about the basic lack of acquiring infrastructure in most (all?) countries.

If Apple need some thoughts on how to overcome these stumbling blocks and to put the F back into NFC, they have a standing invitation to contact us here at F-undamo.

The time is up for experimentation

Sometimes it seems to me that I live in this unique industry where every-one is just busy with experimenting and prototyping all the time. It is almost as everybody is to scared or unsure of actually deploying something. We hear and read a lot about experiments and pilots whereas very few projects have a primary focus to actually deploy into production.

I suppose it is a symptom of very complex systems and concepts that have not been tried out previously. This uncertainty and the lack of case studies and references do create this environment where money is spent on trying out, testing and evaluating. It is true that it is safer not to go into production, but rather drift in the grey area between concept and reality. But then, is this where we want our industry to get stuck?

I say: No, the time for experimentation is over. We now know how to successfully deploy these type of systems. We now know how to distribute the product to end-consumers and we actually have enough proof-points for the business case. It is possible to pick experienced advisers and proven technologies. For sure, the time for experimentation is over.

New insurance products that would change the world

Insurance products have played a major part in the growth of mature economies. Complex risk products provided peace of mind for individuals and companies alike. Structured savings products assist individuals to prepare for retirement or other important events (like study, birth etc.). The premiums collected by means of these products often provide the capital to fund infrastructure and economic growth through investments.

Unfortunately, these benefits are not available in many emerging economies, primarily because of two reasons:

• Limited statistical information to form the basis for actuarial calculations. Without this data it is impossible to design risks products that can be delivered profitably.
  
• Inadequate payment systems making the collection of monthly or weekly premiums impossible and unpredictable.

Widely embraced mobile payment solutions will largely help solve both these impediments to insurance products. The statistical information available from the transactional behaviour of subscribers can provide much of the data that will enable actuaries to create suitable and profitable products. The payment platform provided by mobile payment systems is ideal to support regular collection of premiums in a cost effective way.

The time is ripe for the emergence of a new generation of insurance products specifically aimed at emerging economies. This will lead to a better life for all, but more importantly, the introduction of these insurance products will also directly lead to growth in the economy and will stimulate many secondary industries.

Will your phone (ever) replace your credit card?

I read a very good article on this recently making the statement that your phone can't really replace your credit card (Read here). Amongst others the article makes the following valid points:
a. Payment mechanisms require systems (and networks) that are way more reliable than what Mobile Operators can provide today.
b. Payment systems must be sufficiently ubiquitous that it can be used at most places where you want to pay
c. Many new schemes have tried, but have failed spectacularly to replace existing credit cards and finally
d. The business model on how to make an alternative work ("split the loot") is just not available.

Game set and match. No go, cards are with us for ever. It is impossible to replace them and in some ways, one must agree. Cards work perfectly, everywhere, every time, without a glitch...

Well, actually not. Cards are vulnerable in one way: it is difficult to use them when they are not present. The biggest flaw that cards have is that they are something physical and a lot of the design and the security is built on the fact that a card must be present when a payment is made. This would be okay if all payments that we make are in the real world, but truth is that this is not the case. More and more payments are made in the virtual world and this is where cards are flawed. Using digital payment instruments (like phones) and all the security that they bring is much more suitable. Phones may just start replacing cards in places where cards are needed, but where cards are not present. (So called card not present (CNP or MOTO) payments).

In the recent eBillme Online Spending Index (Read here), the volume of online payments (read card not present) grew with 8% quarter on quarter. That is a lot. Maybe cards will get replaced by mobile phones when online becomes more popular than actual retailers. Statistics seems to show that this is possible.

Hockey stick or horseback of mobile wallet take-up

I have been thinking about this for some time now and have touched on it in previous posts. Based on our experience to date, what does a typical growth curve for mobile wallets look like? To put it in another way: Would the graph look like a hockey stick graph: slowly picking up speed over time and then gathering momentum to ultimately get a life of its own? Or would it look like a horseback graph: Quickly getting up to speed with a significant penetration and then pick up the rest over time?

Our immediate logic says: hockey stick. This thing is foreign and it is going to take time for the masses to actually start using it. It is up to the early adopters to first try it out and to get to grips with it so that the rest can get onto it in time. But this is where we make a massive mistake, I believe. This thing is different. This is about a network effect: the fax machine problem. Even if the early adopters take it up, but do not quickly have enough reasons to use it, they would also discard it.

This is my view now: the only possible success for mobile wallet deployments is if the initial (first) penetration is quickly (and fast) enough to create a community that can sustain itself. The first launch is critical and must be decisive and swift. Consumers must immediately buy in to the value proposition and start using it immediately with positive feedback - only then will the product stick.

It is also my impression that this theory is supported by what we observe in practice. The really successful deployments made a quick start and established a critical mass within eighteen months. Others that started out tentatively usually do not meet expectations and get caught in the valley of desperation where they are not bad enough to close down, but also not good enough to get anyone excited.

What will smartphone dominance do to mobile banking?

Of course I have a smartphone. As a matter of fact I have a few. I also believe that smartphones will dominate and that mobile banking should take cognisance of it. It is just a matter of time. I decided to investigate how long it will take. (I got most of my research here).



According to Gartner 14% of phones sold (not used) could be classified as smartphones in 2009. (That is 170 million compared to 1210 million). In 1Q2010 this rose to 17% (54 million, compared to 320 million). Not that a spectacular growth, especially considering that Nielsen estimates that 25% of phones sold in the US in 2Q will be Smartphones. For an average of 17%, this means that the percentage must be much lower in other countries (especially in emerging economies).



So, then what is a Smartphone? According to Gartner, 45% of the smartphones sold in 1Q was Nokia (did Nokia even make a smartphone?), 20% Blackberry, 15% iPhone and Android 10%. Windows and the other average operating systems made up the rest. This means (if I do my calculations correctly), that 2.5% of phones sold in the world in 1Q were iPhones. (15% of 17%). Not that much.



Next question is, are people actually using the "smart" part of smartphones, or do they just use it as a phone? This is where AdMod did some interesting research recently. This is what they found: Of the web-surfing traffic coming from smartphones, 42% of that, comes from iPhones. It turns out that people don't really use their Blackberry's to surf the web. (At least according to AdMob - I know, they got their research wrong. This cannot be...). But let us just assume that they got it right, then according to my calculations, then 3.75% of phones are being used today in the world to surf the web via Smartphones.



Domination, what domination? We better ensure that mobile banking still run on other mobile phones if we want to stay relevant in the world. Sure, on the other hand, if your customers represent the top 3% of the world's pyramid, then do not worry about other phones.

My penny's worth on the Citi App "disaster".

Judging from the number of tweets and the volume of articles about the Citibank iPhone application recall, this was the news-item of the month. I think that it got more attention than the floods in Pakistan where people were killed. It should therefore be classified as a "disaster". (Read here, here, here and here, for a small sample). "

"..be careful about the applications you install, even if they come from trusted sources.." one "expert" is quoted as saying. Life has just become seriously complex, when you can't even trust, trusted sources on your mobile. I made quite an effort to attempt to get to the bottom of this "massive" security breach, but was unable to understand the issue. Even if some of the transactional data were stored on hidden files on the device, how accessible is it, and how easily can it be used maliciously? This was not clear. Just to make the point, lets assume that the invoice-numbers of the bills that you have paid was stored on your phone. If some-one were to get his hands on these numbers, this would enable them to... pay your bills? Great! Anyhow, many of these numbers are much more in the clear in other formats: for instance in the mail (stored underneath a flimsy piece of envelope paper).

I am sure that the Citibank security officer is very good and diligent, but we must be careful that his/her paranoia does not effect a whole industry. While I am absolutely in support of a save industry and many of my postings on this blog support this, one should also guard against over-reactions of things that are non-events.

It seemed to me that one should be more worried about the fact that banks print one's credit card number on a plastic card that could also be lost. This critical information is stored in clear, unencrypted data for all to see....

Ken Griffin Video

A reader left me a comment and suggested this interesting video about Ken Griffin.Ken founded Citadel at the age of 22 with $4.2m. He started two funds from his dorm room at Harvard, and he claims that in between classes he would make trades. His first 'seeder' was Frank Meyer of Glenwood Capital who was amazed at Ken's success and his ROI. Frank provided $1m for Ken to invest while Ken was only