Online banks have become very popular in recent times. The ease with which they allow us to carry out banking transactions that we would ordinarily have to go to the bank to carry out in the past after standing on queues for a very long time have made it appealing to us. There have in recent times being a battle between traditional banks and online banks. Online banks are trying to provide every service that traditional banks are also providing while traditional banks are also trying to take all of their services online and striving to see how they can provide every service online banks are providing and more. These have resulted in a very competitive environment where the fight of two elephants for once, have resulted in the grass enjoying instead of the grass suffering. The major ways online banks are influencing the financial industry are discussed subsequently.

Cheaper services
One of the major ways online banks are influencing the finance industry today is making cheaper services possible. Traditional banks require physical presence that implies having several branches across the country. They have to either buy or rent properties around the country while staffing the branches. The implication is that they spend a lot on expansion and salary payments. The money to cover these expenses come from charges to customers and other ways they raise money. For online banks, they just need a few software developers that create online apps that make it possible for people to carry out banking services. Thus, their running cost is significantly cheaper. The implication is that they can provide cheaper services. The traditional banks knowing that the cheaper services would attract their customers are also forced to bring down their charges towards remaining competitive. Hence, online banks have made many services in the traditional banking world cheaper, and some cases free, including charges on transfers.

Online loans
In the past, if you need to take a loan, you would have to go to the bank, make an application, provide collateral and wait for about 3 days for the loan to be approved for you to be able to access it. However, with online banks, it became possible to get instant loans. You could apply for a loan within minutes and you would already have the money in your account without providing collateral. Traditional banks are now following suit as well to provide a similar type of loan services and would only require you to do paperwork and collateral when you want to loan a huge amount of money that no online platform would be able to give to you.

Faster banking services
Another way online banking is influencing the financial industry is faster banking services. In the past, sending money to a different country would require days for the money to arrive in the country. However, online banks have now made it possible to send money within minutes and the traditional banks are also trying to follow suit. Transferwise is one of such online banks that allow people to instantly send money across the world at cheaper prices. You can read How does Transferwise work? to know more about online banking services and some of the innovations they have brought to the financial industry.

Fewer crowds in banks
Another way online banks have influenced the financial industry is the presence of fewer crowds in banks. It is mostly the older generation as well as few other people who want to carry out activities that they cannot carry out remotely that visit the bank. People no longer visit the bank to transfer money to their friends, families or to collect a little amount of loan. Payment of utility bills and cable bills among many others is now being remotely carried out. All of these are some of the ways that online banks have influenced the financial industry.

 

There are times as an adult where you will have to be focused on managing your finances a bit closer than you normally would. The last thing you want to happen is to sacrifice a lifetime of planning for some “unexpected” financial issues that you could have foreseen coming if you were paying attention. Here are just a few of the moments when you must keep a close eye on the bottom line.

It All Begins With Your Wedding and Reception

Do you know why wedding vendors love to be in that particular business? It is because it is the one time in your life where people declare they should not have to worry about money. People splurge on the reception like it is the last party they will ever attend. Not only is it extremely costly, but the cold hard facts are only about fifty percent of marriages last.

Should you really spend a year’s wage on your wedding reception? Even if you are lucky enough to have relatives helping with some of the costs, there really is no reason you need to go above five thousand dollars in total. You can have a heck of a party for that amount and be able to pocket the rest and put it safely into investments.

When Your First Child Goes to College

To say college is expensive is an understatement. After all, the sad news is you may currently be 50 years old and still paying off your student loans. Parents want to give as much as they can to their children, but trying to pay for all of their colleges is overdoing it.

There are enough grants, scholarships, and low-interest student loans available to college students so you don’t have to foot the entire bill. These can practically all be had with a little effort. Plus, if your child knows they are responsible for paying for part of the bill, they may choose junior college instead of the most expensive private college in the state.

What to Do When You Are Short Funds?

If you do find that you are ill-prepared for the cost of something down the road, you can take out a personal loan or even a second mortgage. It won’t be fun to do, but there are times when it is necessary. You can speed up the process, too, by going with certain financial institutions. Are no credit check loans safe? You will never know unless you talk to someone in charge, but they do provide you with funds rather quickly!

 

When was the last time you participated in a loyalty program that actually benefited you? Although there are a lot of such programs that deal with reward points and benefits for returning users, the actual benefits remain closer to naught. Some have hidden fees while others have a long list of unfathomable terms and conditions that borderline attempt to cheat the users. Together, these things make such reward programs unusable.

And that is exactly where Dhani Points, a reward points system by Indiabulls Dhani, stands apart. It is a one-of-its-kind reward program by Indiabulls that allows users to reap benefits off their daily financial transactions. It’s a fantastic program for anyone who wants a one-stop personal finance app for all their money movements and use the same app to earn points in return for their loyalty.

Let’s take a close look at Dhani Points and its features.

What are Dhani Points?

Dhani Points are reward points that get credited to your Dhani app after you execute each transaction through the app. This can be a small payment as part of your electricity bill or a flight booking for your vacation plan. But the biggest point-scoring action is personal loan repayment where you convert your earned Dhani Points into real money after each timely payment of the EMIs. The points are converted to equal amount of real cash only if the EMIs are paid on time.

Dhani Points system is available to anyone who uses the Indiabulls Dhani app for a variety of purposes. Although best known for instant personal loans and other credit services, Dhani is capable as a one-stop solution for any imaginable financial activity.

How to Earn Dhani Points?

Once you start using the app, you can immediately start earning Dhani Points through the following actions. You should note that 1 Dhani point is equal to 1 Indian rupee.

• Refer a friend and earn
• Billy payments and recharges
• Flight and other travel booking
• ‘Spin the Wheel’ in-app game

For example, take the case of Mahesh from Raipur who has to pay an EMI of INR 10,000 against his personal loan that he took from the Dhani app. Every month, he executes his usual financial transactions in addition to the daily gaming. By the end of the month, he ends up earning a good amount of Dhani Points which he can redeem through the wallet. Without doing anything else and just using the Dhani app, Mahesh is able to make his EMIs cheaper month after month.

Other ways to redeem Dhani Points are:

• Travel booking
• Utility bill payments and recharges

All in all, the Dhani app is a great resource for anyone looking to get rid of multiple apps from their smartphone. Just one app and you have a way for everything – from instant personal loans to bill payments to credit line to a wallet feature. What more do you need?

If you’re interested in discovering new investment platforms, in order to further diversify your investment portfolio and to decrease your risk, you may be interested in investing with Lear Capital for the first time. To discover why it’s currently one of the best financial platforms to invest with, simply continue reading to discover some of the many benefits of choosing to invest with Lear Capital.

Lear Capital offers one of the most lucrative asset classes to invest in, precious metals. So if you’re sold on the merits of adding precious metals, such as gold and silver, to your investment portfolio, it’s well worth checking out Lear Capital’s wide variety of gold and silver products. Some examples of which include gold and silver bullion of various sizes and more affordable silver and gold coins.

Why are precious metals one of the most desirable asset classes to invest in? Many of the world’s richest men and women have chosen to invest in silver and gold, as both resources are severely underrated and are well worth purchasing, while they’re still cheap. Especially as many investors and financial experts believe that it’s just a matter of time before the stock market crashes and sends the world into the next international recession.

Lear Capital are a well established financial company:

How long has Lear Capital been in business? You may be surprised to learn that Lear Capital has been serving their satisfied customers for over 20 years and were first established in 1997. So if you want to purchase your gold and silver products, from a reputable company who you can trust, it’s well worth choosing to purchase your precious metals from Lear Capital. As if there were a less than reputable business, they would not be in business after 20 years.

Lear Capital have processed over 3 billion US dollars of transactions:

Lear Capital have a proven track record and have processed over 3 billion US dollars of transactions for their clients. Many of whom are repeat clients and have been investing with Lear Capital for well over a decade. Which is proof that individuals around the world trust in Lear Capital to safely and securely purchase gold and silver products online.

You can employ the professional services of an account specialist:

If you’d appreciate professional assistance when it comes to building a precious metals portfolio, if you’re willing to invest a reasonable some of money with Lear Capital, you’ll be able to ask for the services of an account specialist. Whose job it will be to help you wisely invest your capital into lucrative, valuable forms of silver and gold.

You can purchase a rare gold and silver products:

As well as being able to purchase standard silver and gold products such as silver eagles and gold Canadian maple leaves, you’ll also be able to purchase rarer, collectible gold and silver products.

So if you’re ready to start investing in precious metals with a reputable platform, it’s well worth electing to deal with Lear Capital. Especially if you want to invest a large sum of money into precious metals.

 

You’re tempted to open your red envelope and claim your generous holiday bonus before December ends. And considering that it’s the Christmas season, it does make sense on the surface. But taking that holiday bonus before 2020 rolls around may be one of the worst financial moves you can make, according to the latest tax audit reviews. Let’s take a look at why.

Although you might be tempted to grab hold of that extra bonus cash at the end of the year, it may make more sense to delay the receipt of your bonus until January. Why? Because if you get a nice windfall at the end of a tax year, this sweet treat may come back to bite you at tax time. That’s because that extra money could you push you to a whole new tax bracket, which means that Uncle Sam will take more of your money when you file your tax return.

Note that in some situations, receiving a bonus in December will have no impact on your tax bracket for that year. A tax professional can advise you on whether taking your bonus around Christmas time will have an adverse impact on you tax wise. If so, deferring a holiday bonus would likely be a wise move for you.

Also, keep in mind that some employers will force you to take your year-end bonus at the end of the year. In other words, you don’t have the option of waiting for your bonus. However, other companies do give you some control in this area, in which case you should ask your employer to grant you your bonus in January rather than in December.

 

It can be easy to fall behind in your bills for one reason or another. Money could be tight from medical expenses, the holidays, or a loss of income. There are those people that look at the homeless and wonder how in the world they let themselves get into such a predicament. However, if you are wise enough, you realize that could really be any one of us if we were hit with some bad circumstances here and there.

If you are having a tough time staying on budget, here are a few tips to staying on track month after month without racking up the debt.

Get Ahead in Your Payments When Possible

Is it better to have those couple of hundreds of dollars sitting in the bank or putting it to use by getting ahead of loan payments every month? If you make just one extra payment a year on a 30-year mortgage loan, you can knock seven years off the life of the loan. Getting that 30-year mortgage down to 23 years is a huge difference when planning your future.

Furthermore, if you are able to get ahead of your payments here and there, when you are short on funds for a month, you don’t have to worry as you will still be ahead in the long run. So instead of splurging on items you don’t need when you have those few extra dollars coming in, put them to good use and start paying off things early.

Part-Time Job

If you are not able to live off of just one source of income, you always have the option of getting a part-time job on the side. It may not be something that you are looking forward to, but it is better than going into debt. At some point, you will probably be able to drop that part-time job once your finances are doing better.

Make Budget Cuts

If you are struggling to pay off your bills, you can always make budget cuts. This may mean getting rid of your cable television and staying in to eat instead of going out, but when you are hit with hard times, you have to adjust.

There Is Another Option

Sometimes getting a loan is the perfect option. For instance, there are consolidating loans that can lessen the amount of interest you are currently paying every month. You could sign up for a Montreal loan and see what they have to offer in terms of interest and loan amounts.

 

Now is apparently not a good time to be in the auto industry, at least as a major manufacturer. CNN Business reports that global car sales plunged another 4% in 2019. Similar losses were observed the year before. It would appear as though auto sales peaked in 2017 at 95.2 million units. Selling nearly 5 million fewer cars just two years later doesn’t bode well for the industry.

The question that no one seems to be asking is this: could car makers be their own worst enemies? More to the point, could their business models be the reason car sales are slumping? The possibility bears consideration.

Possible Causes

The same CNN report that detailed slumping car sales offered a number of possible causes. First is a slowdown in China’s economic growth. As the thinking goes, Chinese consumers are not buying as many cars because their economy has slowed down.

Another potential culprit is a reduction in government incentives for buying electric vehicles. That makes sense to a certain degree. Due to the high retail price of most electrics, consumers are not likely to buy them without the financial incentive to do so. It simply costs too much money to avoid the internal combustion engine.

Next up is a credit crunch being observed in India. The thinking there is that India’s economy will continue to contract as long as credit remains tight. Just like what happened here in the U.S. during the last few years of the previous decade, economic contraction tends to put the damper on big-ticket items.

All three possible reasons do have some merit. Yet they can hardly account for all of the trouble the auto industry has experienced over the last decade or so. So let’s dig a little deeper by addressing a key phrase in the CNN piece: peak car.

A Finite Market

This CNN piece briefly mentioned, in passing, the possibility that the global economy has reached “peak car.” It is a point that deserves more than a single sentence. In fact, it might very well be the answer to the entire question.

The reality is that the car market is a finite market. The world can only support so many cars among those people with the resources to purchase them and the ability to drive them. While some people plan for buying a new car and others just buy one when they need it, the fact remains that the number of potential buyers is finite.

Car manufacturers have spent the better part of the last several decades building cars that can easily last for 20 years. That is not the way it used to be. It used to be that a decent car would peak at about 100,000 miles or 8 to 10 years of driving. Today’s cars can easily go 20 years and 200,000 miles.

Simple math tells you that cars lasting twice as long reduce the need to purchase new cars. Combine that with the auto industry standard of building as many cars as humanly possible and you have a situation in which the market eventually becomes saturated. That may be where we are today.

Most durable goods are subject to limited markets and market saturation. Marine and aerospace manufacturers, for example, know there is only a finite audience for custom yachts and personal jets. They temper their production accordingly. In the auto industry, production has been running flat-out for as long as any of us can remember. Perhaps it’s time to scale back in the knowledge that their cars now last longer than ever before.

Even if you haven’t applied for a home loan, you will have undoubtedly heard the term “interest rate.” Interest affects loan repayments, but it can also help us make more money. So, what is interest? How is it calculated, and how does it change from product to product? Read on, dear friend as we dive into the wild world of interest.

What is interest?

Interest is the cost of borrowing someone else’s money. When you borrow money for a home loan, the interest you pay is the cost of borrowing the lender’s money and covering the risks that are incurred by borrowing such sums of money. Conversely, if you were to lend money, say by depositing funds in a term deposit account, you will gain interest on your money lent.

I call the shots.

Interest rates are primarily calculated off the cash rate set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (let us call them the RBA from now on). The RBA sets an official cash rate based on market activity and the supply and demand of exchange settlements. A deep understanding of this system requires a university degree, but for all intents and purposes, if the cash rate is low, so are interest rates.

Interest rates are calculated daily, but the rise and fall usually follows a slow pattern and aren’t usually much different from day to day.

What does all this mean for me?

When you apply for a home loan, much attention is focussed on the interest rates and with good reason. The lower the interest rates, the lower your mortgage repayments will be. When taking out any sort of loan, the money you borrow is subject to interest. Several factors determine the exact rate of interest that you pay.

As we have already discussed, the RBA sets a cash rate, which sets interest rates. Your exact rate of repayment is based on this cash rate, as well as the amount borrowed and for how long. Usually, a home loan attracts a relatively low-interest rate as you are paying back the amount borrowed over a long period.

History.

Every time you borrow money, whether it’s a small Afterpay loan or a hefty personal loan for a shiny new car, your lender can choose to report your interaction with them to a credit agency who will give you a “credit score.” If you successfully pay off the loan without any problems, your credit score goes up, inversely, if you fail to make payment or default on a loan, your credit history goes down.

When applying for a loan, your credit score and history are evaluated by the lender to determine how risky you are to lend money too. This risk or lack of has a big input in your repayment interest rates.

Some ways to reduce interest.

A high-interest rate is good if you are investing money but not so much when it’s applied to your mortgage repayments. Being debt-free with a good credit history is the best way to lower interest rates, followed closely by a solid history of savings and long term employment. The more reliable your personal situation, the less risky you are as a borrower, and the less interest you will attract.

Interest is all around us, from Afterpay to home loans. Having a surface knowledge of what interest is and how it affects you can save you a small fortune in repayment fees. Being consistent, responsible, and diligent will reduce your interest rates and make everything easier in the long run. Saving money, getting better value products and services all because of interest rates? Sounds pretty interesting to me.

 

Financial technology, or fintech, is perhaps the perfect example of the modern economy’s brilliant ability to respond to the needs of consumers. Nothing has proven quite as convenient as modern fintech developments like the banking apps or services offering investment-on-the-go. So it’s no surprise to learn that this field is a huge employer, and that revenue in the industry is growing and growing. This blog post will explore some of the history of fintech, and will begin to look at exactly why it is the case that this sector has grown so much in recent years.

Making life convenient

On the whole, most people are content to go through life without taking full control of their finances. Aside from perhaps a pension pot and an owner-occupied home, many people don’t want to get involved in the hassle of savings and investments. It may be perceived as too complex, for example, or it could be seen as risky – especially if the means of monitoring or accessing the investment is clunky and requires something like a snail mail letter!

But fintech services have changed that. It’s now possible for individuals to save and invest in almost real time. The rise in investment apps such as Moneybox, which allows users to set their preferred risk level and then go ahead and invest with just a few taps of a screen, have revolutionised the way in which investments are managed. And while services in this field can sometimes be more expensive than a more complex yet more traditional investment offer, many people are willing to pay for the convenience of having accessible and easy to understand investment management tools at their fingertips.

Payment processing

But fintech’s phenomenal growth is not just limited to the investment sector. On the contrary, it’s now also the case that more simple financial transactions – such as basic consumer payments – are easier to execute thanks to technology. Mobile banking apps are a prime example of this: it’s now easier than ever to check whether or not a Direct Debit has been paid, and this has led to users being more in control of their finances – at least for the most part.

It’s difficult to remember the previous iteration of consumer payments technology, but in the relatively recent past many users were reliant on calling their bank or heading down to an ATM for a printed slip if they wanted to find out how much balance they had left or whether or not a payment had been made. Otherwise, it was normal to have to wait weeks for a monthly statement to arrive.

The world of crypto

No discussion of financial technology would be complete without looking at cryptocurrency. In some ways, cryptocurrency is almost in a category of its own. It has fast become one of the most compelling asset classes out there, and despite its tendency to move up and down quickly in price, it still works for many. The relationship between crypto and fintech is an interesting one given just how two-way it is. Firstly, fintech has impacted crypto, with investors in the crypto sphere now able use software tools including Crypto Group to enhance their portfolios, which is an improvement even on a few years ago when crypto was first popular and such a thing as a trading robot was hard to find.

But crypto has also impacted fintech, with many classic banking and finance functions now much faster as a result of blockchain technology. Anyone who works in the complex but interesting field of money transfer, for example, will have come across services such as Ripple – a blockchain tool which improves the liquidity of a bank or other financial institution and allows it to process payments in phenomenally short periods of time, perhaps as low as five seconds or so. With an increasing number of banks and payment organisations now signing up to Ripple and other services, the chances are high that this example of great fintech is going to grow in popularity.

Fintech is something of a buzzword in the modern age – but with good reason. Financial technology has proven itself time and time again to be a durable sector, something that has the power to the change the habits of consumers and investors who use it. From apps to websites and everything in between, it’s no surprise that fintech services of all varieties have really taken off.

 

The popularity of online casinos and sport betting, specially for football, in recent times is remarkable. They are becoming more and more attractive for people who prefer to enjoy their favorite game from home through their computer screen.

Besides the convenience, their fame is due to the varied offer of games, attractive incentives, security and reliability, privacy and anonymity offered by this new option, among others. The sum of all this has allowed its growth to be accelerated.

There are different payment method options with particularities that fit the profile of each user. According to Casino Pilot, if you want to have a good time making small and sporadic bets, casinos accepting Interac for deposits, payments with Bitcoin, Paypal or Skrill are a good option.

If you want to make bigger bets, other options are considered. It’s important to note that payment methods are important for gambling operators to be considered safe, along with the privacy of user information and offering an updated encryption system that guarantees their security. Below are some of the options:

Electronic purses

They are fast and secure payment methods. The user’s information will remain intact and completely hidden from the online casino in which they are playing.

-Paypal: is a free system that allows users to make payments and transfers via the Internet without sharing financial information with the recipient.

-Skrill (Moneybookers): is an electronic wallet that offers a wide range of online financial services. The service is free, the process takes five minutes and you only need a valid email address to sign up.

-Neteller: These are cards with online payments where users can use the established amounts in up to 26 different currencies such as the Euro, the US dollar, the Brazilian real, the Swiss franc or the Mexican peso.

-Bitcoin: is a virtual currency. Bitcoin allows you to transfer money online without revealing your identity.

Most common

-Bank transfer: It consists of transferring money from one account to another. However, the disadvantage of this type of transaction is that it takes three to four working days.

-Electronic transfers: using the credit card, the player can also make bank transfers.

-Bank Cards: this is the most frequent method of payment due to its speed, simplicity and security. The types of bank cards most used and accepted by online casinos are Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron and American Express.