ONLINE BANKING – ARE YOU READY FOR IT?Written by Jim Slobodzian
Are you ready for online banking? Or a better question – are banks ready for you?Online banking is much, much more than simply punching in your codes at nearest ATM, and breadth of services available to you are growing fast. In fact, some banks do not have branches located in brick buildings at all, but are operating competitively in "online" world offering all services "traditional" banks have offered in past. Getting Started So, what should you consider before making leap in to cyber- banking? Probably first thing to consider is whether you have "connections". The simplest online connection you need is dial-up internet access from your computer. With this, you are now able to make a connection with your existing bank or surf other banks to open an account, request a loan, etc. If you have an existing bank account, many banks are making it easy for you to "enable" online access to your accounts. Check with your bank, process of getting online access to your existing accounts is fairly easy – and you should be able to do this online. (Note: When converting my existing account to online banking at RBC process wouldn't let me do it online. I had to call in to their office during business hours, but process was fairly simple and telephone support was very good.) They will guide you through a simple process, setting you up with your account # and password. Guard these carefully! – they are just as important as your ATM PIN #'s. What Can Online Banking Do For Me? The services available to you are growing monthly. To be fair to banks, they are playing catch-up to some of services being offered by auction payment systems which in a way have "blazed trail" for online payments. New e-money currency, "wallets" and payment systems have filled a gap in market place that banks are looking to recover. The ones that really want your business won't make it difficult for you to do business with them. As we all know, nothing is more frustrating than spending your time and energy trying to use your bank's "online" services only to find that an hour later you see a message saying "please visit your nearest branch to….". So what should you expect? Here is a list of basic services that I believe you should be able to expect from your online bank (and of course, list keeps growing). Open a new account Check credit card balances Check your mortgage balances Make bill payments Schedule automatic bill payments for regular bills Make credit card bill payments Apply for a loan Apply for a mortgage Transfer funds between accounts Ability to send and receive checks online Check your brokerage account and trade stocks or mutual funds (integrated) Wireless banking access I should note that when comparing some of services offered by US banks vs. Canadian banks, it appears that Canadian banks are slower to offer important basic online services such as sending and receiving checks and payments. Hopefully they will catch up in coming months. Advantages The advantages of convenience and speed for online banking are obvious. You have ability to do your business when it is most convenient to you, at any time of day with no line-ups and no waiting. Transactions are most often executed and confirmed instantly or during next business day. And of course, with increased competition that comes with consumers having more knowledge and easier access to competitors, price differences are worth comparing. For certain basic services "virtual" banks that only operate online have better rates as compared against some of traditional institutions that have to maintain their branches and buildings.
| | Words Alone Can’t Explain This Stock MarketWritten by Charles Payne
Last week, I read that folks at Oxford English Dictionary had a slate of American English words for consideration in future editions. Apparently, because of its international influence via entertainment industry, America is prime source of new entries into language (I guess it’s good to see country still has some influence, because there are very few areas that our global neighbors still look up to us). The word erm that I found to be most interesting for consideration is bling-bling.The word refers to large jewelry, such as platinum chains and diamond rings that rappers and athletes sport. However, word could also perfectly describe nature of stock market in late 1990s. Moreover, it is perfect way to describe pay packages of CEOs, and lest not forget that house that former CFO of WorldCom is building in Boca Raton. Although it is obvious that editors at OED are becoming hipper, they’re still a little slow on latest in urban vernacular. In this case, it is probably a blessing. According to Financial Times, a writer from Houston recently stated, "The Bling-bling era is over". It better be, as far as individual investors are concerned. In fact, bling-bling era has temporarily been replaced by but-but era. Or in some cases butt-butt era. The latter refers to how many investors feel after being taken advantage of by entire system, or to expression on faces of those that continue to take 5th during congressional hearings. In meantime, Bush administration spends a lot of time saying "but-but". The drubbing of stocks was clearest message people have sent since Boston Tea party. Moreover, it wasn’t just Americans that were voicing their dissatisfaction with President’s address concerning confidence crisis. When those safe haven stocks began to tumble during week, one had to know that it represented a lot of foreign investment. As Ross Perot would have said, that was a big sucking sound. (By way, didn’t he get in trouble this week?) Yes, foreigners are taking their money out of market just as fast as US investors, who withdrew about $20 billion from funds last week. It is interesting that much hasn’t been made of simple fact that market can’t go higher if there is more money going out as there is coming in. Anyway, I think Bush will come back with a more definitive plan that goes beyond punishment and maybe focuses on prevention. I know that GOP thinks that those dynamics are one and same, but in certain situations they’re not. The spectrum is such that those that have nothing to lose, and see no other way, aren’t going to be swayed by prison terms or other forms of punishment. Sharing this space are those that are either so inherently criminal, that it is part of their being to break law and those that are so blinded by greed that any risk is worth reward. In their zeal to achieve bling-bling status, there is nothing that can stop them. They break every rule in game. So, it stands to reason that these same people would first manipulate rules, bending, twisting and corrupting them. There, ladies and gentlemen, is where President has to focus his next address on topic. After all, when it comes to those in this country that see no other way, rules are extremely precise. If a 19 year-old kid from ghetto can get 10-years in prison for selling $20.00 worth of crack then that person knows risk when he/she hits street corner. (A discussion on fairness of this type of sentencing could go on forever. I do find it shocking that type of fraud that results in people losing their entire life savings only has a maximum term of five years. The but-but crowd has never seen anything unfair about such inequitable punishment, but may begin to backfire on them.) The rules of game have to change to point where anyone investing in stock market understands them. Let’s face it, many of companies and individuals facing public scorn did nothing illegal. On Wall Street it was akin to some sort of magic show. The sleight of hand was rewarded and applauded. You bought stocks because a company could manipulate numbers. You loved management that found ways not to pay taxes. The CEO that could only pull a rabbit out of hat was seen as behind times. Heck, we loved to see company sawed in half, only to emerge whole by time earnings were announced. The President has to understand that audience doesn’t want that anymore. They want reality television. No more tricks, no more hocus-pocus. No more voodoo accounting. No more but-but.
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