Cash

First Cashless, Now No Plastic?

Sep 18th, 2011
by Elena Gentry.
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Isis is a mobile payment solution company that has developed applications for Verizon, T-Mobile and AT & T customers to be able to make bill payments directly from their cell phones. Recently, Isis has entered into business partnership with Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover for those companies to create applications which allow their customers to pay via mobile phone. With such major names in the credit industry getting on board with mobile payments, the process is becoming more mainstream than ever and competition is expected to be fierce.

Phones Will Become e-Wallets by 2012

In addition to giving consumers the ability to pay their credit card bills through their phones, Isis has developed software in cooperation with the four major credit card issuers that will give them the ability to purchase items at cash registers by swiping their phones instead of presenting a plastic credit card. The first test market cities for the e-Wallet application are Salt Lake City, Utah and Austin, Texas and will take place in the beginning of the calendar year 2012.

Isis’ Competition

Isis will be entering a very competitive mobile payment market when the e-Wallet product is introduced early next year. Still, the company is positive about its ability to bring major competitors like Mastercard, Visa, Discover and American Express together to provide a convenient service for the benefit of all customers.

Google and Apple will provide stiff competition for Isis to overcome when they launch their own mobile payment processing solutions during the summer of 2011. Isis would be wise to learn from the inevitable mistakes that the larger companies make and use the opportunity to tweak their own product before releasing it. Besides facing competition from Google and Apple, Isis must deal with specialized players in the mobile payment business like Amazon.com and PayPal. Visa and Mastercard also plan to market their own mobile payment plan along with working with Isis.

Long-Term Goals of Mobile Payment Processing

If the initial phase of implementing mobile payment processing goes well, Isis and its competitors are hopeful that the application will eventually replace issuing consumers plastic credit cards. With an anticipated seven-fold increase in mobile payments by the year 2014, the company that comes out on top of selling the most payment applications stands to realize an enormous profit.

Isis has its work cut out for it, since it does not yet have the hardware necessary that Google and Apple already have. The company is still optimistic about its chances ever since the partnership with Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover helped to level the playing field.

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Everything You Wanted To Know About Obtaining A Student Credit Card With Cosigner

Sep 14th, 2011
by Chris Williams.
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Having a student credit card comes with a variety of benefits, making it possible to pay your food and gas bills, furniture, textbooks, etc. College students benefit from holding a credit card, and their chances of approval increase if they have a cosigner.

How should you proceed in this case? You first need to find someone close who agrees to cosign for you. This person can be your parent, guardian, relative, or just someone close to you. The person who will act as your cosigner should not be legally related to you; so, you can ask a close friend of yours or a colleague as well. Find a person with an excellent or very good credit score and outstanding payment history who has one or more credit cards. Ask this person to become your cosigner but be sure to make it perfectly clear that he or she will be responsible for debt repayment in case of default. Do your best to convince your friend or relative that this will not happen. Talk about your maturity and sense of responsibility.

If you have a cosigner already, it is time to shop for student credit cards. Check with the local banks and big banks in Canada (e.g. Bank of Montreal, CIBC). When checking credit card offers, look at two things – whether you meet the requirements and whether the card in question meets your needs. You should also compare interest rates, annual fees, rewards plans, etc. Ideally, you will choose a credit card with no annual fee. If this is not an option at the moment, charge items on your credit card for a year or so and ask your credit card issuer to waive the annual fee. Be sure you understand all fees that go with your credit card of choice. Almost all credit cards have over-the-limit and late fees. You should avoid cards with unfair fees like an account maintenance fee.

With these details in mind, back to applying. The application process for Canadian student credit card is not different than applying for another credit card. The only difference is that your cosigner should dial the number on his credit card and talk to customer service. They have to explain that they have decided to cosign for you.

Keep in mind that not all credit card issuers allow applying with a cosigner. The reason is that some issuers are unwilling to service joint accounts. Others require that you have a guarantor, even when mailing you offers. But do you really need a cosigner? You will be more responsible if you have one. You are less likely to neglect your card knowing that your parents or friends will pay the bill.

What else to keep in mind? With student credit cards, it is best to start out with a lower credit limit than you would like to. This way, you will learn not to overcharge. If the credit limit is set high, you may overcharge and accumulate excessive debt.

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Wise Up, Stop The Avoidance, Know Your Debt

Sep 1st, 2011
by Layla Crawford.
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There is a lot of noise out there floating around on how to save up cash and thereby accumulate a savings. The reason for this is because more often than not saving money is perceived as an issue of self-control, and while that is true, it is also an issue of technique. More often than not the more critical component of strategy is first changing ones own perception and focus, and then only subsequently thereafter altering the problematic behavior that got you in debt in the first place.

Often growing debt builds form of internal conflict that is quite literally a real type of pain. It hurts. It causes cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, the best step to take would be to build a habit out of watching your income down to the dollars and cents, but to do this you must first confront where you’re already at. If debt has already built up, the sting of reality may be like a punch to the lower back.

It is critical to realize and fully accept that this pain is a temporary matter. The sooner you rip that old crusty bandage off and get to work, the sooner you’ll be back on top of things and feeling on top of the world. Remember, debt is a form of modern slavery, and by making any real progress whatsoever you are taking the first step to becoming a really and truly free human being, which is a form of transcendence in and of itself. That is probably worthy of celebration. The mantra “this too shall pass” (as does all things) may be helpful when biting the bullet and beginning the ditch digging effort that paying off debt truly is.

Armed with the knowledge of the fact that confrontation of your actual financial situation will be a real form of pain, there are ways to actually help yourself become increasingly resilient to this type of stress, and cognitive pain. One of the optimal ways to build psychological stress resilience is to build physical resilience! Hit the gym. After you’re feeling the euphoria from that endorphin rush of the gym and just a little more numb to pain than you might be usually: go home, grab your bank statement, fetch your stacked-up bills, and find out what the REAL numbers are. Do this on a weekly basis!

Make a concrete habit of looking at the real numbers. Confront reality with more frequency and you’ll be surprised to find yourself naturally and inevitably compelled to work harder, and make wiser long-term decisions as well… and it all begins with that slap in the face when you open your online banking account. That cognitive pain is the actual trigger in your mind and begins the rush of brain chemicals that provide you with the capacity to alter your completely ingrained behaviors in the first place. It is truly necessary! It does hurt, but it will be your salvation.

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