Who Does The Trades?

Forex foreign exchange trading does of course mean dealing in currencies in the foreign exchange market and participants to this form of trading are usually the banks and commercial organizations as well as central banks as too those dealing in hedge funds – all of whom trade on a daily basis. In addition, investment management companies and retail forex brokers as too ordinary individuals and even companies are the ones that take part in Forex foreign exchange trading.

Most people that have never indulged in Forex foreign exchange trading fear that this form of trading is difficult to master; the truth of the fact is that it not very difficult and though risks are high you can by staying active get to take part of the trillion dollar plus daily forex pie. As the name suggests Forex foreign exchange is an activity in which foreign currencies in the international market are bought and sold. This in turn means having to buy some amount of foreign currency at a low rate and then selling it off at a higher rate.

A good reason to enter into Forex foreign exchange trading is that there are always buyers and sellers available that will either buy from you or sell to you. So, this is never an issue. And, with online Forex foreign exchange trading a new reality you now get to enjoy even more benefits including greater convenience and being able to trade at any time of the day or night.

The forex exchange market is huge and it offers the astute investor numerous opportunities to make considerable sums of money. However, before throwing your hat in the ring it is necessary that you learn and master the basics to Forex trading and only after you have become confident enough should you invest your money.

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Financial transactions and banking have forever been changed thanks to ecommerce. High speed internet connections have made banking more flexible and efficient. Only a few years ago, to apply for a credit card would have involved visiting a bank for a number of appointments and then waiting a few weeks for an approval to be given. Today the process is much faster; it now possible to have an almost instant credit card.

There are many advantages that come with applying for a credit card through the internet. Of course the speed at which an approval is made is usually the most important factor.

In most cases when we choose to apply for a card it is because we have seen a product that we want but it is only available on credit. If you can have an instant approval for a card online then you can plan and organise your expenditure better.

Also by applying for a card online you will do away with the need for an interview with the actual lender. In many situations such appointments would be scheduled for an inconvenient time. The convenience of using the internet to process an application far outweighs any positive aspects of using a High Street Bank.

When you search online you will discover that there is a wide array of lenders available that is far greater than could be found in any city or town. By choosing an online lender you may be able to get hold of a credit card with good conditions as internet businesses have lower costs and overheads that can be passed on to their customers as compared to a physical bank.

Be aware that just because you are applying online does not mean that there will be no credit check. If you have a poor credit score then search for a website that offers credit cards to people like you.

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If you have signed up for online banking, then you are aware that most financial transactions can be carried out with it. Not only can you facilitate any financial transaction through online banking, it is very quick, simple and safe. Signing up for online banking is very straightforward and not confusing.

Have you ever heard about the ING Direct Electric orange checking account? This special account now offers interest on online checking accounts. This is something most brick and mortar banks don’t do. If you want interest on your checking account, you’ll have to run an online ING Direct Electric orange checking account.

Smart banking, as they refer to online banking, can help you monitor your accounts from anywhere.  You can monitor the status of your loan, mortgage and other credits in your name by simply using online banking. When you are set with you account online you are ensure to be using the latest technology available to man kind in the world. Banking online in an smart way will greatly give you an advantage over your peers.

The bank you use for your banking needs will determine of kind of services your will acquire when you open an account. Many big banks in America now provide a personal kind of online banking facilitated by the use of information technology and mobile phones to customize your banking transactions.

With the new technology use by the banks now days, it very feasible to search for banks and services beyond your residence country. with this method you will able to recieve benefits of some banking services otherwise not provided in you country of residence.

Internet banking, E-banking, online banking or whatever name you know it as, simple means the traditional and corner way of banking enhanced by the internet. Initially, before banks started associating with the internet, you can only transact at the local branch where you open your account and if you require making transactions from another outlet of the same bank, it may take days or even weeks to confirm depending on the strength of the transaction. Now online banking has developed from being able to run your account in any outlet of the same bank to running it from your home or anywhere and at anytime of the day.

If you run an online account that gives you a line of credit or financial product, you can easily borrow money from it on the internet and make immediate use of it. Totally different than spending unnecessary time on your bank managers office as in the paper work banking. Borrowing money is just few clicks away, thanks to online banking.

Jon Ferriss is an avid reader and publisher of articles regarding online banking.

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I’ve been using the various online banking services from DBS, UOB, and Fairpriceplus, supported by OCBC. I always thought that I needed to get the PIN from the bank, so I never used Citibank’s online banking services. However, I wanted to check my account balance and so I found out that it wasn’t that hard I had imagined it to be, and I could have used it long ago. 

The PIN required for Citibank online banking is your ATM PIN. For added security, you will key in your PIN by clicking on the numbers instead of keying in from the keyboard. At the same time, your account numbers will not be seen by any hackers, because most of the numbers are covered up by asterisks ***.  

So far, UOB, Fairepriceplus and Citibank will send a second round of security number to you via SMS. This means you can check your accounts anywhere you want.  UOB is also able to separate joint account holders’ individual accounts, and yet giving access to the account for both holders. I’m not sure about other banks though. 

 Fairpriceplus is an online bank that operates mainly via the Internet. You may access the ATMs from OCBC to deposit or withdraw money, or you can just transfer money from other accounts. Because of this, it is able to give 1% interest on normal saving account. I think this is a great deal compared to what many other banks are offering. At the same time, if you are a frequent NTUC shopper, you get to earn more points when you use the credit or debit facility, as the card has 2 in 1 functions. 

 By moving everything online, we can avoid meeting the pesky bank officers who try to sell us all sorts of structured products, especially when they aren’t making the money themselves, and the products promoted are recommended not based on merit, but based on what the company has for the product of the month. 

 DBS wants to save money on SMS bills, so it has issued a token to its customers. This means you have to carry that small token with you, which is quite inconvenient. At the same time, since many of us are afraid to lose it, we will probably leave it at home, which limits the ease of portability.

One newspaper columnist had already spoken out against this a few months ago, citing it as a reason for him to close the accounts and then move on to other banks which offer more convenient services. I guess banks have to watch out for the bottom line by lowering its operating costs, but at the same time, it should ensure that customers are well served without having much inconvenience. 

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I think this is an important point. For a bank to be fully mobile, the ATMs should be up 99% of the time. I had met with an unpleasant experience with a bank which I had mentioned before with cute ATM messages. I needed to put in funds into my account so that my cheque would not bounce. As I had not set up an account on my Internet banking, I needed to put funds manually into the account. To my frustration, the ATM machine at location B was spoilt. The next nearest location I knew was in location A. The bank put a notice informing the customers to go over to location A. It was not that far away, but I would have to pay additional parking charges at the new location.

Since I needed to put the money in urgently, I drove over to location A. I was extremely frustrated when I saw that both ATMs were down there as well. The notice at location A told customers to go to location B. I flared up. There happened to be some bank officers on duty, but they were more of customer service staff than actual bank tellers, so I marched over to them and asked one of them how long it would take for the ATMs to be ready. She said it would be repaired in three hours, because it was a Sunday. When I told her that I had just come over from location B because of the notice, she apologised that she only just found out that the ATM at B was down. After I asked her where else I could go to to deposit my money, she said I had to go down to Orchard. I didn’t have so much time so I was very angry. I would not be able to deposit the money the next day before 3pm as I had to work. As a result, I had to call up the other party to ask the person to bank in the cheque after 3pm, just so that it would not bounce. This was an embarrassing situation.

The next day, I figured out that the machines should have been repaired by then, so despite driving past location A, I chose to go to location B as it was easier to park for short period of time. To my anger, the machine was still down. The banking hours were over, but the bank was still opened for other investment services. I decided to calm myself down and just went into the bank to try my luck and if not, to lodge a complaint. Thank goodness the bank teller accepted my deposit.

Imagine my disgust when I went to location B again, one week later, and found the ATM was down again. How can the largest bank in the world have such lousy ATMs? If customers cannot withdraw money easily or draw money easily, then what is the point? When I tried to deposit money at location A again, the machine was finally ready, but it was out of paper. Such a standard of service for a major bank was unacceptable to me. The final straw came when the high interest rates promised earlier fell by 0.8% to 1.2%. This amount is dependent on a few factors, such as increasing deposits each month, or a minimum of $20000 in the bank.

I am going to stick to an online bank, which promises a constant 1% for any amount at all times.

I definitely hope that the bank will do something about it. Reading about its woes in Fortune magazine makes me wonder whether the operations in Singapore would be affected.

Going back to the self-serve ATM, I hope it will raise the standards for other banks, though the cost should definitely not be passed on to the consumers.

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I just received one today, and I was puzzled by two items. One showed Melbourne Australia, and I had not been there ever since I finished my studies, and I did not do any online purchases. After thinking for a while, I think I remembered that it was for my fitness run in June. The company that charged me was probably an Australian firm, though it was quite surprising.

Another one that puzzled me consisted only of a few letters and many numbers. I had just read an article or heard on BBC that states that credit card fraud takes place every 8 seconds or some other statistics. One woman noticed a charge from India on her credit card statement, so she called the bank up. The first thought she had was that the card was physically stolen. The second thing she did was to call the bank up. It turned out that she was a victim of online credit card fraud. The charge was reversed. This means the merchant who was cheated would have to absorb the loss. They will then pass the costs to the consumer. So consumers are the ones who lose out.

Coming back to my situation, I really could not think of what I had spent on. I decide to call the bank up and had to wait for 15 minutes before they answered my call. After verifying my information, they told me that it was from some government organisation. I told the call operator that I would probably recall it.

True enough, I remembered that I had used my credit card for a donation to one of my favourite charities, the SPCA. It was for tax deduction purposes. With a sigh of relief, I put the statement away. I had also used my credit card to maximise my points.

Sometimes, it does pay to check through receipts as well. I could never understand why my father would scrutinise every item on the grocery bills. Once, he was very upset that they over charged him for a $2.50 item, probably some clothes hangers. He only bought one set, but they charged him two sets. He drove all the way back, probably wasting more money in petrol and parking, just to get that sum back. Well, I had the habit of not checking, but recently, I checked my bill for books, and they charged me the price of two items instead of one. Thankfully, they confirmed that they double charged me, and refunded the money to me. This time round, the price was ten times that of the clothes hangers, so the returns were way better.

In conclusion, just remember to keep your bills and receipts and take note of your expenditure. Check through your statements and receipts carefully to avoid fraudulent charges.

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However, just take some steps to protect yourself from credit card fraud.
1. There are some break-ins at the lockers at local gyms, so be careful of which gym you frequent and whether there is ample security. According to the email, a card was swapped with an expired card from the same bank without the person knowing.

It was only after some time that the person realized it and the crook had run up a hefty bill. Perhaps when we carry many credit cards, we may not use some of them sometimes and hence we do not check them. Hence, it is wise to check them once in a while, or monitor your credit card billings through Internet Banking, since the charges usually appear quite quickly.

2. Check your credit card before you leave after payment. Sometimes genuine mistakes might have been made by the restaurant or they might have swapped your card with an expired one. Sometimes, they might have mixed up your card with that of another customer.

When I was at the gym recently, the guy at the counter returned to me another customer’s card instead of mine. It would have caused considerable inconvenience to the two of us, and I usually did not check my returned card. I happened to look at the card because it had a picture of a man, and hence the mistake was quickly rectified. For credit cards, the problem would have been more serious.

3. In the third scenario, the cashier took a picture of the person’s credit card using his handphone. It sounds a little ludicrous for the cashier to be doing this while having the customer right in front of him, so I am not sure how real this situation could be.

For your information, if you use online transactions, apart from all the details on the front of your card, you need to know the 3-digit code that is at the back. It would be futile for the cashier to use this information.

No matter how much truth there are to the stories, just make it a habit to check your cards are returned. It is also prudent to check your credit card billings online weekly, to check that the correct amount has been billed. However, banks would only protect the customer from fraud if customers call the banks before any fraudulent payments had been made.

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You can use Internet Banking to pay, so this is very easy.

I actually made a mistake by trying to make my payments at URA’s website. They said there was no record of my car at all, and I called the hotline. The guy told me that it was under HDB when I mentioned that I was currently using the RFID Tag, this particular tag that has a chip and no other details. You can use the same tag even when you change cars or move to another flat, so there will not be any additional charges.

All you have to do is to go to http://www.hdb.gov.sg/ and click on the HDB e-Payment. If you cannot remember your car park number, just click on Locate your HDB Car Parks online and key in your postal code. With this information, you can apply with the following information. Just click on  Renewal of Season Parking Ticket.
      (i) Applicant’s NRIC No.
      (ii) Applicant’s Internet Banking User ID / PIN or Credit Card Particulars
      (iii) Applicant’s Bank Account No.
      (iv) Car Park No. of Parking place

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1. Combine points with one bank
2. Choose rewards you have a real use for
3. Use your card for insurance/tax payments
4. Use your card for investments
5. Look for the best deals
6. Combine expenditure with supplementary cards
7. Offer to pay first in group settings
8. Check when points expire

1. Combine points with one bank that offers the best deals
Having many cards may be advantageous as different cards from different banks offer different privileges and discounts. However, when it comes to earning points, it is best to combine the points with one bank. You may hold a number of cards with the same bank, and they will combine the points. This helps you to have enough points to exchange for useful vouchers. Choose the card that offers you the best bonus systems. Some cards allow doubling of points compared to other cards from the same bank. Different banks have different ways of calculation.

2. Choose rewards you have a real use for
Some banks offer overseas hotel stays, which sound tempting and exciting. However, they usually offer only a one night’s stay excluding airfare. You will have to fork out additional expenses and sometimes they have stipulations on when you can use the vouchers. It would be better if you choose dinning vouchers at restaurants you already go to, or better still, shopping vouchers at major departmental stores. Use the vouchers to buy things you need.

3. Use your card for insurance/tax payments
Insurance and tax payments can be rather hefty. Make full use of your credit card to pay for these bills. One bank allows me to use the Internet banking service to pay for my insurance and tax payments using the credit card, instead of deducting from the savings account. Find out more from your own bank.

4. Use your card for investments
Some online investment portals allow you to choose the method you want to pay for your investments. One particular investment portal allows me to put money into a cash fund which works like a term deposit, but without the fixed period. I can withdraw the cash at any time without any penalty and I get a decent interest rate. Technically speaking, I can deposit the cash, withdraw it, and deposit the cash again using my credit card repeatedly to earn points. The drawback is the investment portal takes some time to transfer money. You must also ensure you transfer enough money to your credit card so that you will not go over the credit limit.

5. Look for the best deals
Different shopping centres offer different deals. Some require more points for the same amount in terms of vouchers. Do a simple calculation. Usually, the greater the value of the vouchers, fewer points are required. However, it may not be true, so do check carefully. Sometimes, it may be better to have 5 $20 vouchers than 2 $50 vouchers or vice versa.

6. Combine expenditure using supplementary cards
If you have a partner, you may want to consider using supplementary cards. When two people are using the cards, you earn bonus points at double the rate. Of course, whoever is paying the bill must work out the terms with the other partner to avoid any unhappiness in the future. Money can be a major source of friction between couples.

7. Offer to pay first in a group setting
When two people eat at a restaurant, it may cost them $100. When 6 people eat at the same restaurant, it could cost $300. Since most of the restaurants do not offer separation of bills, take the chance to pay first, if you are with a close group of friends who will not default on such payments. When they pay you cash, you do not need to go to the ATM to withdraw money and you get to earn points too. The only drawback is you must not spend this amount before you pay the credit card bill. Money management is important.

8. Check when points expire
Make sure you know when points expire. Do not let the bank use your points to waive off charges (more on this at another time). You may have to do some trial and error matching to get the most out of your points. Many banks do not allow you to rollover the points, especially when they have expired. You may want to call up the customer service though.

Sarah Tan – SingaporeProfit.com

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