Riding Wave

Even Federal government is singing praises of debit card use for consumers. Please see consumer guide: “Are You Riding Debit Card Wave?”

Debit cards are seen as safer than cash and more convenient than checks. So make room next to your cash register for a debit terminal, PIN pad and printer, and reduce risk that a customer may not have right payment option when impulse to buy is upon them.

There’s virtually no risk in accepting PIN based-debit card payments, so make sure it’s an option at your cash register. It’s a sure thing!

Foreign Outsourcing vs. Offshoring

"Foreign Outsourcing" is hiring of a foreign company to do some of your work, while "Offshoring" is creation of a wholly owned foreign subsidiary which gives company greater control. According to financial consulting firm Deloitte and Touche, there was a 38% increase in number of financial institutions with offshore operations in 2003, with an estimated 500% increase in offshore jobs.

Call center work is only tip of iceberg. There is an ever expanding list of higher level technical positions being exported from a variety of industries. Engineering positions, architectural design work, computer programmers, computer-generated animation, financial and legal research, insurance claim processing, software coding, AutoCAD, technical drawings and billions of dollars worth of back office services are now being moved from first world to third world by mostly larger companies. This is making it difficult for medium sized businesses to compete.

India is well positioned to receive much of this work because it has a large English speaking population from its colonial history with Great Britain, and a growing pool of Internet-wise graduates ready to work at low Indian wages.

Concerns over data privacy and data theft loom large. Three employees of Msource in India allegedly siphoned off $350,000 from Citibank customers recently, using information obtained over phone, according to Callcentres.net. The plaintiffs who will go through a living hell trying to gain back their financial identities will not be outsourced, nor will local judges and jury who will hear case. A couple other factors that come to mind when considering foreign outsourcing or off-shoring, are Islamic terrorists hostile to western interests, civil unrest, security costs, infrastructure concerns and global war on terrorism...just off top of my head.

Growing up we were told to eat all of our food because people were starving in other countries. I remember being chastised for suggesting that we should ship out my left over peas and carrots. Today we should tell our kids to study hard and think outside box because people in other countries are hungry for their jobs!

Let's Laugh and Have Faith

On a lighter note, my wife called our credit card company and was transferred to “Mumbai”. (Bombay) In one minute she was squaring off with mores of a patriarchal society. She was told that she would have to “consult with her husband and obtain his permission and consent, and gain his approval.”

The policy was no doubt born in America, but something in tone and wording communicated female inferiority and wifely subservience. The idea of being "granted approval" was not going down easy. There may have been some gagging.

“BUT...IF, my husband doesn’t pay his bill, THEN you’ll want to talk to me! Will I need his "approval" and "consent" and "permission" for MY credit to be hammered?"

I was handed phone at a certain mid-point in intercontinental shoving match. Something about “your husband will have to make that decision”.

I got on phone and had a lovely conversation. We marveled at how all of this can be taking place over thousands of miles. Actually I rather enjoyed experience. Perhaps I can outsource our marriage counselor.