Filed under: Banking, Technology
Researchers predict that more than half of us will own a smartphone by the end of the year, and even people who consider themselves tech-shy probably have an ordinary cell phone in their purse or clipped to a belt. Not just for texting or surfing the net, these devices are at the cutting edge of the way we interact with our financial institutions.
A rapidly growing number of activities you can do in person or via a phone call can now be accomplished – sometimes faster, because there’s no waiting in line or on-hold time – with a few taps of the keyboard on your cell phone. In fact, five years from now, Javelin Strategy and Research predicts that 86 million of us will use our mobile phones to conduct our banking activities.
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Filed under: Debt, Credit Cards
We told you last month how Visa plans to roll out a system that would let people pay each other without cash or checks by using their cell phones. The innovation would let people who wanted to pay their babysitter, for instance, or a colleague who grabbed them coffee simply by accessing their mobile phone number or email address. Now, American Express has announced a competing peer-to-peer (P2P) payment tool called Serve.
According to the company, users can pay other people online or via their cell phones, and use the service to make purchases at retailers that accept American Express via a reloadable prepaid debit card that’s linked to the consumer’s online Serve account. Serve has mobile apps for both Android and Apple smartphones and can be accessed via Facebook in addition to the Serve.com website. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banking, Technology
Many consumers have been banking online for some time now, so the last thing you probably think you might need is a refresher course on just what boneheaded things you shouldn’t be doing. On the other hand, it’s online banking veterans who may need this list the most — after all, when you do something over and over again, you can become complacent. Lazy. Less guarded.
That’s why we’re offering our list of the five worst mistakes you can make while doing your banking online. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Credit, Debt, Family Money
We recently told you about a handful of cities across the country where credit card debt has continued to rise, despite the recession. Articles like this one also highlight the cities where revolving debt is highest, sometimes accounting for as much as 17% of the average income in an area.
Interested in the other side of the story — are there any places where credit card debt has fallen? — WalletPop contacted the credit bureaus Experian and Equifax and asked them to share any information they had on U.S. cities where credit card debt had decreased the most last year.
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