Of the People for the People: When Banking Goes Social

Social media has come a long way, baby, over the past decade. Analyzing the already (in) famous case of Facebook alone will reveal a spectacular tale of a brainchild born out of the enthusiasm of three Harvard dropouts. What started out as a basement dream evolved into a social network especially devised for students and alumni of Ivy League colleges, which then expanded across colleges in the United States and eventually took over the whole world. Nowadays, there is little people don’t do on Facebook. They chat, keep friends, family, and acquaintances updated of their personal status quo and whereabouts – and, more recently, they’ve also started taking their banking to new social level. 

Of course, this latest revolution is inextricably tied in with the mobile revolution, in which both technology and IT savvy have a lot to say for themselves. Over the past year, the US market reach and share of smartphones has increased to great extents and the latest polls in the field indicate that it will only continue along the same lines in 2013. Not only are more and more people online, but the range of actions they perform on their mobile, online-ready devices is also becoming more and more diverse. Supremacy belongs to game playing, which has surpassed, in terms of time spent at play, the time people spend playing video games on their desktop devices. Online and social banking, however, is also undergoing a quiet revolution of its own. 

Two of Australia’s Leading Banks Go Social

Bankwest is one Australian bank that realized the catchphrase according to which ‘you don’t exist if you’re not on Facebook’ is truer than they may have initially thought. At http://www.facebook.com/bankwest they’re keeping clients informed, both current and prospective ones, of all the bank’s activities outside the main institution’s premises. Their strategy is personal and their approach light, as their profile is peppered with pictures from recent social events, organized in support of the bank’s many social initiatives. Bankwest is one Australian bank which has been focusing on online presence more so than others in recent times – their online savings, credit card, and personal loan deals often come with better terms than their offline counterparts.

Bankwest is not the only online Aussie bank either. Another major competitor on the market has recently launched a marketing campaign aimed at informing clients of the many services they offer online. These range from enabling payments via mobile, to dedicated smartphone apps for people seeking to purchase a new home. According to the bank’s representatives, their latest campaign is about improving the bank – customer relationship, and not about “technology for technology’s sake”. The decision to go online and implicitly social was marked by the bank’s desire to stay on top of its game, to improve the way banking was viewed and to provide a higher-value experience for the end-user. 

What’s in it for the Banks?

As the latter example goes to show, taking a banking enterprise online and helping it stay connected with its clients through multiple channels is not about being ‘trendy’. It’s the next logical step in an approach that is firmly rooted in the traditions of the banking industry. Back before the global financial crisis, and even further back in time, during the fifties, sixties, and seventies, banks were perceived as more ‘humane’ and implicitly human than they are now. The GFC changed all that, as many institutions across the world tumbled toward their inevitable end, fueled, it seems, by a lot of inhumane amassing of capital. Current attempts at socializing via the newest means available are, by the looks of it, an attempt of making amends for the past decade. Time alone will tell if the general consumer public chooses to validate this attempt or dismiss it.

Assessing the Damage After Your Identity Has Been Stolen

The Traveler’s Guide to Preventing Identity Theft offered by Guest Door is a wonderful resource with many hints that can help you prevent identity theft. If you travel frequently, or you’re concerned about protecting your identity while you’re out and about, you should read over this info. But what do you do if your identity is stolen?

You get that dreaded phone call: there’s been suspicious activity on your credit card and your bank wants to know if you've been engaging in a spending spree. You’re shocked and appalled. Your identity has been stolen and you've got to act quickly if you want to protect yourself from additional theft and damage.

You’re understandably overwhelmed. What do you do? You want to figure out how this has happened. There are a few steps you’re going to have to take to protect your wallet and your credit:

Contact Equifax, Experian, or Transunion Immediately

You’re going to have to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You won’t have to call all three. Once you contact one agency, they’ll inform the others. They’ll also be sending you a copy of your credit report for you to review. Fraud alerts are extremely important because it requires companies to verify your identity before issuing a line of credit in your name. This will prevent thieves from opening any more new accounts in your name.

Contact Creditors Right Away

If the perpetrators have opened new accounts, contact those creditors and notify them of fraudulent activity. The accounts will be closed and you’ll have to fill out a fraud affidavit. If accounts that you opened have been compromised contact those creditors and let them know your identity has been stolen. The accounts will be closed and you’ll be able to review any charges to determine what activity has been taking place.

Contact Local Authorities

The next step is to contact local authorities and alert them to fraud. A detective will be assigned to your case and you can ask for any details about the charges. You’ll want to let them know what was spent and how your identity was stolen. When you finish providing information to the police, be sure to write down the case number and detective’s name. You’ll have to include this information on any fraud affidavits.

File a Complaint with the FTC

You’ll also need to notify the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1877-IDTHEFT.
Change all Online Passwords

You’ll want to change all your online passwords. The thieves may have acquired information from one of your accounts. Additionally, this may be inconvenient, but you should never store passwords online or on your computer.

Always Keep Records

You’ll want to keep updated records throughout the process. You should keep up with details of your dealings with any creditors, companies, and detectives. You should always write down the name of anyone you speak with, their title, the company they work for, the date, and time as well as a short summary of the discussion you had.

You’ll need to keep all this information in one location that is safe. It’s evidence that you will need later. You might find yourself being diligent initially, but important information may surface later. You need to track everything until all of your disputes are resolved.

Identity theft shouldn't ruin your life or your credit if you can manage to stay calm, be organized and take those first crucial steps involved in resolving any issues. You can bounce back from this stressful situation and you can stop those identity thieves right in their tracks. It might be tough initially, but it’s not an impossible situation.

Author Bio:

If you are still curious on what more steps to take in preventing identity theft, you can visit GuestDoor. You can also visit Traveler's Guide to Preventing Identity Theft.  

Start Filing Your Tax Return With These 6 Steps

IRS Form W-9 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Neda Jafarzadeh, a financial analyst with NerdWallet Investing. NerdWallet helps consumers make better financial decisions and compare total costs to find the best broker for their needs. 

If you haven’t already started preparing your 2012 tax returns, you will want to get started as the April 15th deadline is fast approaching. To get started, consider the following six tips: 

Tip 1: Know If You Need to File

If you aren’t sure whether you need to be filing a tax return for 2012, the IRS has a page that helps you decide whether or not you need to be filing. If you’ve decided that you do not need to file a tax return, keep in mind that you won’t be able to take advantage of the various credits that would otherwise be available to you. For example, if you made less than $50,270 in 2012, you may quality for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), or if you were a college student in 2012 or your dependent was a student, you may be eligible to receive the American Opportunity Tax Credit. 

Tip 2: Taxable vs. Nontaxable Income

While most types of earned income is subject to taxation, other types such as child support payments, gifts, inheritances and welfare benefits, are not. In addition, keep in mind that if you received a refund, credit or offset from the state, you may be required to include that as income even if you did not receive a Form 1900-G. To learn more about what income is subject to taxation, check Publication 525 on the IRS page. 

Tip 3: Finding Forms and Publications

There are numerous ways you can get the forms you need to file your tax return. One way is it get the forms online or by phone if you call 1-800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676) between 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Monday through Friday and request that they be mailed to you. You can even find the forms at your local post office or public library. 

Tip 4: Don’t Get Scammed

Tax scams are more common than you might think and the IRS has gone to great lengths to educate the public on recognizing and reporting these scams. If you aren’t sure whether you’ve fallen victim to a scam, the IRS has set up case scenarios to help you identify common scams, usually involving phone scams or identity theft. If you know you have fallen victim to a scam, you can use Form 3949-A to report it to the IRS. 

Tip 5: Get Help

If you are planning on using a DIY tax software, make sure you read customer reviews for the tool to see if your needs will be appropriately satisfied. NerdWallet also ran a comparison of the top two softwares available H&R Block and TurboTax, so feel free to reference that resource as well. If you plan to hire a professional tax preparer, do check his qualifications by asking for his Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTIN). 

Tip #6: Use Tax Credits Available to Parents

If you are a parent, be sure to look into the tax credits that are available to you like the Child and Dependent Tax Credit. You should be eligible to receive this credit if you have a child under the age of 13 and had to pay for a caretaker while you went to work or while you looked for work.

Top 100 Finance Blogs To Follow in 2013

Here's a list of the top finance blogs to follow in 2013. I'm proud to be on it. I know a lot of these blogs but many I don't. I will be checking a few out, why don't you do likewise. Thanks Couponaudit.com.
 
An infographic by the team at Couponaudit.com
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Guide for Freelancers: Working with Difficult People while Avoiding Problematic Scenarios

Facing daily challenges is not as difficult as dealing with people with problems. This article will help in explaining how to deal with difficult clients and how to handle their questions and reactions. 

Difficulty in Dealing:

Following are explained some reasons of why the freelancers perceive some clients as difficult:

• Communication Style Differences. Communication is the medium through which the complexity of any client can be predicted. Some people feel more comfortable in any type of communication medium. Some uses email, phone calls, chat or face to face meeting. The difficult people find a way in any type of medium to irritate the employer. 
• Knowledge Based Differences. Not everyone can understand everything and not everyone knows everything. Freelancers have to guide the client with proper knowledge and make him understand things he does not perceive correctly. Sometimes the client offers low price for large amount of work, for this freelancer have to elaborate the price scheme so that he understands the amount of efforts required. 
• Life Experiences’ Differences. It’s virtually impossible for a person to acknowledge what the other person has in mind and what he/she is going through unless he/she share. It’s an important note to memorize that mostly people have diverse behaviors in the stressed situations. 

Salvage Relationships:

The first choice for a freelancer should be to salvage the relationship if the client is difficult. If the reasons have been identified of client being difficult, proper steps should be taken in dealing and correcting the relationship. It can either be adjusting the way freelancers operate or by swallowing their pride. Below are various specific steps which could be taken for resolving the specific problems:

• Communication Style Differences. Communication is the medium through which the complexity of any client can be predicted. 
• Knowledge Based Differences. Not everyone can understand everything and not everyone knows everything. Freelancers have to guide the client with proper knowledge and make him understand things he does not perceive correctly. 
• Life Experiences’ Differences. It’s virtually impossible to acknowledge what other people are going through unless they speak of their problems. It’s an important note to remember that most of the people have diverse behavior in stressed out situations. 

Time of Ignoring People with Problems:

Salvaging the relationship with a difficult person is generally considered as best option. There might come some times when it’s best to ignore difficult person. Usually it’s preferable to ignore difficult people to avoid any irritation in work. For instance, if the client is asking for status reports on daily basis, it must be annoying but providing them with the reports. 

Last Resort:

Last resort for a freelancer is to cut off the difficult person from the work entirely. One should go for such act after much thinking because one it is done, it can’t be undone. Ending the relationship should be made if there is not step or chance of reconciliation left.

Author Bio:

Austin Richard is an IT professional from prepnerds. Are you really looking for Prepnerds.com Assistance? Take the benefit of Apple Certification Exams and pass your exam easily.

  

Forex Basics

International Currency Money for Forex Trading (Photo credit: epSos.de)

The Internet and advent of electronic funds transfer in the early 90s made the world’s forex markets readily accessible. Today, the forex is one of the largest securities market in the world. Different players contribute to its market volume including individual investors, and huge hedge funds among others. Forex trading continues for 24hours as traders try to profit from changes in currency exchange rates. 

Basically, forex trading is quite simple because it involves buying one currency with another. If a trader buys a currency with another and the exchange rates of the two currencies move in the favour of the trader, the forex trader can buy back the original currency at a profit.

Trading in the forex market is based on a bid/ask system. The difference between a seller’s asking price and the buyer’s bid is called a spread. The smallest increment in the exchange rate is known as a pip and is usually one one-hundredth of the US cent. Commissions are not charged by forex brokers. However, brokers mark-up spreads to 3-20 pips and keep it as their fee.

Forex trading is all about exchange rates. To monitor changes in currency exchange rates, traders need to analyse forex charts, which show trading activities within a certain timeframe. There are several types of forex charts but the most common are bar charts and candlestick. Traders should have proper understanding of these charts to spot trends and make smart trading decisions.

How to read a Forex Chart

• Locate a chart to analyse. Charts can be found online or in specific forex markets
• Find the range. Charts are a reflection of short and long term trading. Forex trade beginners can easily read charts with a range of at least a day but not more than one week. 
• Identify the chart type. Bar charts have price ranges indicated with vertical bars while candlestick charts have vertical rectangles. Line graphs do not have bars or rectangles. Charts come in different forms and traders can switch to candlestick or bar charts for easy interpretation. 
• Locate open and close prices on horizontal “pegs” in a bar chart and top and bottom of rectangles on a candlestick. When the open rate is lower than the close rate, the rate has an upwards trend and the opposite is true. 
• Look at the chart as a whole. It will have groups of bars with different colors moving up or down indicating upward and downward trends respectively.

Common Mistakes in Forex Trading

Lack of knowledge
Forex trading is complex. There are many factors that affect currency markets including interest rates, inflation, elections, wars and money supply among others. These cause currencies in affected regions to swing up or down. Traders without knowledge of the countries whose currencies they trade in can make poor trade decisions.

Lack of discipline
One of the most important traits that forex traders should possess is money management skills. Traders with a plan on where to sell in case a trade is losing money can make higher profits.

Getting too complicated
Some people believe that the more complex an investment is, the more profitable it can be. This is not always the case with forex trading. Most traders who benefit from forex trading do the basics.

Greed
Some traders also believe they can make high returns every day. This makes them take huge risks in a bid to make more. Eventually, they lose all their money if they invested blindly.

With forex, traders can make huge profits on their investments but with the wrong decisions, they can also incur huge losses. Forex traders who learn the basics can avoid making blunders that will make them lose money.

If you want to learn more about Forex trading and want to understand those seemingly complicated currency charts, you can visit http://www.forexcharts.net/.