If you think American Express caters only to the affluent think again.
In an effort to serve a growing industry it’s rolling out its first prepaid card for the general market.
I was a bit surprised myself but it’s obvious that with the success of its Pass prepaid card that launched last year Amex got a taste of this market and now wants to take a much bigger bite.
Now this new card is not a debit card and it’s not a credit card. It’s a prepaid, reloadable card that you can use as a way to control spending. 
While prepaid cards like Account Now and Black Diamond have its unique benefits like credit building the American Express Prepaid Card has a few benefits up its sleeve too.
One in particular is its reduced fees and compared to other prepaid cards it is definitely a plus.
Here are the two types of fees that you get charged:
First, to fund the card at retailers like Wal-Mart and Walgreens there is a $4.95 fee but if you use a checking or savings account you pay nothing.
Read more…
College is an exciting time. You’re experiencing independence you’ve only previously dreamed of and staying out later than any curfew you’ve ever complained about.
With all this new found freedom, you’ll need to shoulder some extra responsibility – especially when it comes to protecting your identity. If you live in a dorm or apartment with roommates, you can never be 100 percent sure who is in your home and potentially looking through your things.
The Better Business Bureau estimates that 14 percent of all identity theft crimes are a result of “friendly fraud,” from sources like new roommates or acquaintances. Even if they don’t know you personally, identity thieves can dig through your trash or your unlocked mailbox.
If you want strong scores like us, the BBB offers some tips to prevent identity theft:
- Store personal records in a locked box or password-protected file. Shred sensitive
Read more…
Back in 2005, Rupert Murdochs News Corp bought Myspace for $580 million. Back then, just 6 years ago, Myspace was the clear social media boss of the Internet. No-one came a close second, even social network and online dating heavy-weights such as Friendstar and Friends United had less than half the combined following compared to Myspace. Myspace was so far ahead of its competitors and was the darling of journalists from around cyberspace via style magazines and media press.
so it seems as though Myspace has fallen, but has it? A serious of surveys into social networking and Internet search technologies has named Myspace in the top 5 most recognized Internet brands in the world. Even though Myspace is showing significant signs of failing, perhaps its simply failing to thrive, but why?
Building brand recognition is one of the most difficult challenges any business will face. But Myspace already has this.
Read more…
There is enough confusion out there about how the prepaid debit card industry works, that it warrants a brief explanation. Now, keep in mind this is a very simplistic explanation of the industrys structure, but for all intents and purposes, it should provide some insight.
At the top of the food chain, are the banks that issue the cards. Now, the term banks is used for simplicity. There are a few layers involved in the industry, and the banks who issue the cards are entities that you probably havent heard of as they more than likely dont have brick and mortar branches where people go to deposit money. Deposited funds (online or through a retail merchant such as Western Union) will run through these companies much like a checking account. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are networks through which the cards are used. The networks provide a transaction service to the banks when your card is swiped. They typically charge the merchant and/or the bank a fee for each swipe.
Read more…
Before the development of the Internet, many find themselves dreading and avoiding remortgaging of their properties, simply because of the time and effort needed to compare rates. People had to travel frequently for meetings, and some ended up accepting higher rate to avoid the nuisance of comparing rates.
With the Internet, this job has become easier. In fact, you may find your way of securing even the cheapest remortgage deals, which will improve your finance. Finding remortgage deals online is very simple as many sites will also show a list of the mortgage deals on offer, including their interest rates, the set up fees and early redemption penalties that are charged. At the same time, many free services are provided for you online. For example, you can request for free quotes from multiple financial organisations, right from the comfort of your own place, without being bound in any obligation.
There is also the free online repayment calculator to estimate your monthly repayments with more favourable interest and shorter repayment terms. Read more…
Applying for a personal loan can become a life saving decision, because there are many situations when you need to get assistance immediately. Repairing your car you need to go to the job, unexpected medical expenses or wedding celebration are only several of them. If you are in such a situation you should learn the credit industry very careful if you don’t want to make the situation even worse. Personal loans can be very advantageous if you use them in a proper way.
As the main point you should learn that loans can be secured and unsecured. When you apply for a secured loan, your property or other fixed/mobile active is secured against the sum of borrowed money. Y Read more…
