Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Prepaid "credit" cards

A prepaid credit card is not a credit card, since no credit is offered by the card issuer: the card-holder spends money which has been "stored" via a prior deposit by the card-holder or someone else, such as a parent or employer. However, it carries a credit-card brand (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover) and can be used in similar ways just as though it were a regular credit card.

After purchasing the card, the cardholder loads the account with any amount of money, up to the predetermined card limit and then uses the card to make purchases the same way as a typical credit card. Prepaid cards can be issued to minors (above 13) since there is no credit line involved. The main advantage over secured credit cards (see above section) is that you are not required to come up with $500 or more to open an account. With prepaid credit cards you are not charged any interest but you are often charged a purchasing fee plus monthly fees after an arbitrary time period. Many other fees also usually apply to a prepaid card.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Secured credit cards

A secured credit card is a type of credit card secured by a deposit account owned by the cardholder. Typically, the cardholder must deposit between 100% and 200% of the total amount of credit desired. Thus if the cardholder puts down $1000, they will be given credit in the range of $500–$1000. In some cases, credit card issuers will offer incentives even on their secured card portfolios. In these cases, the deposit required may be significantly less than the required credit limit, and can be as low as 10% of the desired credit limit. This deposit is held in a special savings account. Credit card issuers offer this because they have noticed that delinquencies were notably reduced when the customer perceives something to lose if the balance is not repaid.

The cardholder of a secured credit card is still expected to make regular payments, as with a regular credit card, but should they default on a payment, the card issuer has the option of recovering the cost of the purchases paid to the merchants out of the deposit. The advantage of the secured card for an individual with negative or no credit history is that most companies report regularly to the major credit bureaus. This allows for building of positive credit history.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Transaction steps

* Authorization: The cardholder pays for the purchase and the merchant submits the transaction to the acquirer (acquiring bank). The acquirer verifies the credit card number, the transaction type and the amount with the issuer (Card-issuing bank) and reserves that amount of the card holder's credit limit for the merchant. An authorization will generate an approval code, which the merchant stores with the transaction.

* Batching: Authorized transactions are stored in "batches", which are sent to the acquirer. Batches are typically submitted once per day at the end of the business day. If a transaction is not submitted in the batch, the authorization will stay valid for a period determined by the issuer, after which the held amount will be returned back to the cardholders available credit (see authorization hold). Some transactions may be submitted in the batch without prior authorizations; these are either transactions falling under the merchant's floor limit or ones where the authorization was unsuccessful but the merchant still attempts to force the transaction through. (Such may be the case when the cardholder is not present but owes the merchant additional money, such as extending a hotel stay or car rental.)

• Clearing and Settlement: The acquirer sends the batch transactions through the credit card association, which debits the issuers for payment and credits the acquirer. Essentially, the issuer pays the acquirer for the transaction

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Credit cards in ATMs

Many credit cards can also be used in an ATM to withdraw money against the credit limit extended to the card, but many card issuers charge interest on cash advances before they do so on purchases. The interest on cash advances is commonly charged from the date the withdrawal is made, rather than the monthly billing date. Many card issuers levy a commission for cash withdrawals, even if the ATM belongs to the same bank as the card issuer. Merchants do not offer cash back on credit card transactions because they would pay a percentage commission of the additional cash amount to their bank or merchant services provider, thereby making it uneconomical.

Many credit card companies will also, when applying payments to a card, do so at the end of a billing cycle, and apply those payments to everything before cash advances. For this reason, many consumers have large cash balances, which have no grace period and incur interest at a rate that is (usually) higher than the purchase rate, and will carry those balances for years, even if they pay off their statement balance each month.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Star Wars Episode

A New Hope (originally released as Star Wars)[1] is a 1977 space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It was the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films continue the story, while a second trilogy contributes backstory, primarily for the troubled character of Darth Vader. Ground-breaking in its use of special effects, this first Star Wars movie is one of the most successful films of all time and is generally considered one of the most influential as well.
Set far in the past in a distant galaxy, the movie tells the story of a plot by a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance to destroy the flagship space station/weapon of the oppressive Galactic Empire. The plot follows the tale of farm boy Luke Skywalker who is suddenly thrust into the role of hero when he inadvertently acquires the robots carrying the schematic plans of the station. He must accompany retired military general and rebel sympathizer Obi-Wan Kenobi on a mission to rescue the owner of the robots, rebel leader Princess Leia Organa, deliver the plans to the rebels' secret base, and help destroy the station before it reaches and destroys the rebel base.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Home Care Services

Home care is care that allows a person with special needs stay in their home. It might be for people who are getting older, are chronically ill, recovering from surgery or disabled. Home care services include

* Personal care, such as help with bathing, washing your hair or getting dressed
* Homemaking, such as cleaning, yard work and laundry
* Cooking or delivering meals
* Health care, such as having a home health aide come to your home

You can get almost any type of help you want in your home. Some types of care and community services are free or donated. Many other types you have to pay for. Sometimes government programs or your health insurance will help cover the cost of certain home care services.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Homeowner Insurance Factors

Property Most homeowners insurance includes "off-premises coverage" foryour personal property. All homeowners insurance covers personalproperty but how it protects your belongings can differ. Askyour agent if an endorsement can be added to your homeownersinsurance policy to cover personal property, such as your cellphone. A homeowner insurance policy is a package that protectsyour dwelling, personal property and personal liability.

Yourhomeowner's insurance covers damage to your property, so youshould file a claim with your insurance company. Most peopleeither need homeowner's or renter's insurance to cover thepotential loss of property where they live. Your homeowner'sinsurance policy Coverage C, or the named perils coverage,describes personal property coverage anywhere in the world.

Inaddition, all homeowners insurance policies contains personalliability coverage, which protects against lawsuits involvinginjuries that occurred on and off your property. Company I shopped carefully before picking a new homeowner's insurancecompany. Now, I got a notice from my insurance company statingthat they are going to nonrenew my homeowner's insurance

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Parties involved in Credit card

* Cardholder: The holder of the card use to make a buy; the consumer.

* Card-issuing bank: The financial institute or other group that issued the credit card to the cardholder. This bank bills the customer for refund and bears the risk that the card is used falsely. American Express and Discover were before the only card-issuing banks for their own brands, but as of 2007, this is no longer the case.

* Merchant: The individual or business tolerant credit card payments for crop or services sold to the cardholder

* Acquiring bank: The financial institute accepting fee for the products or services on behalf of the merchant.

* Independent sales group: Resellers of the services of the acquire bank.

* Merchant account: This could refer to the acquiring bank or the sovereign sales organization, but in general is the group that the merchant deal with.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Benefits to merchants

For merchants, a credit card business is often more secure than other forms of expense, such as checks, because the issuing bank commit to pay the merchant the moment the business is certified, regardless of whether the customer defaults on the credit card payment. In most cases, cards are even more secure than cash, because they discourage theft by the merchant's workers and reduce the amount of cash on the building. Prior to credit cards, each merchant had to appraise each customer's credit history before extending credit. That task is now performing by the banks which suppose the credit risk.

For each purchase, the bank charges the mercantile a commission for this service and there may be a certain delay before the agreed sum is received by the merchant. The commission is often a proportion of the transaction amount, plus a fixed fee. In addition, a mercantile may be penalized or have their ability to receive payment using that credit card controlled if there are too many cancellation or reversals of charges as a result of disputes. Some small merchants require credit purchase to have a minimum amount to compensate for the business costs, though this is not always allowed by the credit card grouping.

In some countries, for case the Nordic countries, banks assurance payment on stolen cards only if an ID card is checked and the ID card number/civic register number is written down on the receipt together with the autograph. In these country merchants therefore usually ask for ID. Non-Nordic citizens, who are unlikely to own a Nordic ID card or driving license, will in its place, have to show their passport, and the passport number will be written down on the receiving, sometimes together with other in order. Some shops use the card's PIN for recognition, and in that case showing an ID card is not essential.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Credit card's Grace period

A credit card's grace period is the time the customer has to pay the stability before interest is exciting to the balance. Grace periods vary, but typically range from 20 to 30 days depending on the type of credit card and the issue bank. Some policies allow for restoration after certain situation are met.

Usually, if a customer is late paying the balance, finance charge will be intended and the grace period does not affect. Finance charges incurred depend on the grace period and poise; with most credit cards there is no grace period if there is any excellent balance from the previous billing cycle or report. However, there are some credit cards that will only relate finance charge on the before or old balance, excluding new dealings.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Benefits to customers

Because of intense opposition in the credit card industry, credit card provider often offer incentive such as frequent flyer points, gift certificate, or cash back to try to attract clients to their programs.

Low interest credit cards or even 0% interest credit cards are obtainable. The only problem to consumers is that the period of low attention credit cards is incomplete to a fixed term, typically between 6 and 12 months after which a superior rate is charged. However, services are obtainable which alert credit card holders when their low interest period is due to terminate. Most such army charge a monthly or annual fee.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Interest charges

Credit card issuers usually waive interest charge if the balance is paid in full each month, but classically will charge full interest on the entire terrific balance from the date of each purchase if the total balance is not paid.

For example, if a user had a $1,000 business and repaid it in full within this grace period, there would be no interest emotional. If, however, even $1.00 of the total quantity remained unpaid, interest would be charged on the $1,000 from the date of purchase until the payment is customary. The precise manner in which interest is emotional is usually detailed in a cardholder agreement which may be summarizing on the back of the journal statement. The general calculation formula most financial institution use to conclude the amount of interest to be charged is APR/100 x ADB/365 x number of days revolve. Take the Annual percentage rate and split by 100 then multiply to the amount of the standard daily balance alienated by 365 and then take this total and multiply by the total number of days the amount revolved before payment was complete on the account. Financial institution refer to interest emotional back to the original time of the deal and up to the time a payment was made, if not in full, as RRFC or residual retail finance accuse. Thus after an amount has revolve and a payment has been made, the user of the card will still obtain interest charges on their statement after paying the next declaration in full.

The credit card may simply dish up as a form of spinning credit, or it may become a complex financial instrument with multiple balance segments each at a diverse interest rate, possibly with a single umbrella credit limit, or with divide credit limits applicable to the various balance segments. Usually this compartmentalization is the result of special enticement offers from the issuing bank, to encourage balance transfer from cards of other issuers. In the event that numerous interest rates apply to various balance segments, payment portion is generally at the discretion of the issuing bank, and payments will therefore usually be owed towards the lowest rate balances until paid in full before any money is paid towards higher rate balance. Interest rates can vary significantly from card to card, and the interest rate on a exacting card may jump radically if the card user is late with a sum on that card or any other credit instrument, or even if the issuing bank decide to raise its revenue.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

How credit cards work

Credit cards are issue after an account has been approved by the credit provider, after which cardholders can use it to make purchases at merchants accept that card.

When a purchase is completed, the credit card user agrees to pay the card issuer. The cardholder indicates his/her approval to pay, by signing a receipt with a proof of the card details and indicating the amount to be paid or by entering a Personal identification number. Also, many merchants now agree to verbal authorizations via telephone and electronic authorization using the Internet, known as a 'Card/Cardholder Not Present' business.

Electronic verification system allows merchants to verify that the card is valid and the credit card client has sufficient credit to cover the purchase in a few seconds, allowing the confirmation to happen at time of purchase. The verification is performing using a credit card payment terminal or Point of Sale system with a transportation link to the merchant's acquiring bank. Data from the card is obtain from a magnetic stripe or chip on the card; the latter scheme is in the United Kingdom and Ireland normally known as Chip and PIN, but is more technically an EMV card.

Other variations of confirmation systems are used by eCommerce merchants to determine if the user's account is valid and able to agree to the charge. These will naturally involve the cardholder providing additional information, such as the safety code printed on the back of the card, or the address of the cardholder.

Each month, the credit card user is sent a report indicating the purchases undertaken with the card, any terrific fees, and the total amount owed. After getting the statement, the cardholder may dispute any charges that he or she thinks are incorrect. Otherwise, the cardholder must pay a definite minimum amount of the bill by a due date, or may choose to pay a higher amount up to the entire quantity owed. The credit provider charges attention on the amount owed. Some financial institution can arrange for automatic expenses to be deduct from the user's bank accounts, thus avoiding late payment overall as long as the cardholder has enough funds.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Credit card

A credit card is a scheme of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. In the case of credit cards, the issuer lends capital to the consumer to be paid afterward to the merchant. It is diverse from a charge card, which requires the steadiness to be paid in full each month. In difference, credits cards allow the customers to 'revolve' their stability, at the cost of have interest charged. Most credit cards are issue by local banks or credit union, and are the same shape and amount, as specific by the ISO 7810 standard.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Amusement park

Amusement park is the general word for a collection of rides and other leisure attractions assembled for the purpose of enjoyable a reasonably large group of people. An amusement park is more involved than a simple city park or playground, as an amusement park is intended to cater to adults, teenagers, and small children.

An amusement park may be stable or temporary, generally periodic, such as a few days or weeks per year. The short-term amusement park with mobile rides etc. is called a funfair or carnival.

Theme parks form a more closely defined type of an amusement park. They are permanent conveniences that use architecture, signage, landscaping to help express the feeling that people are in a different place or time. Often a theme park will have a variety of 'lands' of the park committed to telling a particular story. Otherwise, an amusement park often has rides with tiny in terms of theming design elements. The main difference among a theme park and an amusement park is to in a theme park all the rides go all with the theme of the park, for example Disney World.