If you have spent any time at all researching credit card data and interest rate calculations, you probably found yourself feeling a bit dazed and confused. Certainly, now more than ever, consumers find themselves researching and having to develop and digest technically complex information and data not often presented in the easy to understand, laymen, terms most of us can easily comprehend.

The statistics supporting credit card debt accumulation and credit card usage has grown at a rate never before seen in history. We are truly living in a time never before been experienced in our relatively short history. With financial policy and governmental influences around the globe changing so radically throughout the last three or four decades the average consumer has effectively been removed from a comprehensible place of understanding and many have been lead to the very brink of financial ruin by their very own misguided and unintended ignorance.

You may think that you need a degree in accounting or economics to understand the credit card interest rate information you need today to make well informed and solid financial decisions but truly, you do not. You just need to understand how each of these calculations can affect how quickly or how slowly you pay off your credit cards. This information will also help you in deciding what credit card option may be the best choice for you.

Before we get to the five sorts of calculations used by financial organizations everywhere, you need to have a good understanding of how credit cards work. There are many advantages to using credit cards. They provide security in that you do not have to carry cash in your wallet. There are amazing consumer protections in place affording you options to disputing charges, protect against damaged or faulty merchandise as well as provisions against potential theft and fraudulent use of your charge cards. Just like modern currency, credit cards have many built in features designed to protect against counterfeiting and other forgery techniques used by innovative and creative thieves and forgers.

If you decide the credit card is the best way for to make your purchases, you should also assess what kind of spender you are. Are you a compulsive or impulsive shopper?

Consider keeping a relatively low ceiling on your credit card limits. High limits along with impulsive spending habits could lead you down the road to financial ruin. The best way to use a credit card is to use it sparingly and pay your balance off each and every month. This way you avoid getting into unpaid balances and the interest valuations associated with those balances.

Tracking Credit Card Interest Rate Information

If you are going to carry a balance on your credit card, there are essentially four methods financial institutions and credit card issuers use to calculate and charge interest, they are as follows:

Average Daily Balance
Adjusted Balance
Previous Balance
Two-Cycle Average Daily Balance

The average daily balance is commonly used and is the sum of the daily outstanding balance(s) divided by the number of days covered in the billing cycle to provide an average daily balance for that period and is then multiplied by a constant factor to determine the interest charge.

Interest resulting from this calculation is essentially charged at the close of business each day, but it only compounds or gets added to the principle one time per month.

This particular interest calculation is by far the easiest to compute and understand as it produces a rate that approximates almost, or as nearly to, the equal expected rate.

The adjusted balance calculation is made by calculating the balance at the end of the billing cycle and is multiplied by a factor to arrive at the interest charge.
This can result in an actual rate that can be lower or higher than the expected or advertised rate since it does not take into account the average daily balance.
It does account for money that is lent over the course of several months.
The previous balance method is similar to the adjusted balance method except your interest will be calculated on the balance(s) collectively accumulated from the previous month.

You will be paying interest on the current balance minus the amount you paid in the previous month. For the most part, this particular method favors the issuer of the card in that most consumers are still driven to pay only the minimum payment each month.

The last and probably the most complex way interest calculations can be performed is the two-cycle average daily balance method.

This particular method is the most expensive way to calculate interest as it considers two months of your average daily balance.

To make the APR calculation, it takes into account the sum of your average daily balance for the current and previous billing cycles and multiplies that figure by the APR and then divides by twelve.

Carrying a large average daily balance during the prior billing cycle leads to incurring higher finance charges the following month if you are a consumer who carries over a balance.

Consider the following simplified illustration, a balance of $1500 in the previous billing cycle and $500 in the current billing cycle equates to an average daily balance of $1000 (the sum of the last two months average, divided by 2). Even if you paid off a significant portion of your previous months balance, the two cycle average daily balance would still be calculated at $1000, not the current $500. This effectively doubles the finance charge making it less attractive to carry a higher balance on a credit card that employs this particular method as the preferred interest or APR calculation.

These four interest calculation methods illustrate why it is important to have the credit card interest rate information you need before making your next big credit card purchase. There are more to interest rates than meets the eye and its of paramount importance, especially in tough economic times, to understand what you might be getting yourself into.

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Source - http://www.creditcardpaymentonline.net/credit-card-fees/the-credit-card-interest-rate-information-you-need/

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How do the Obama deficits compare with past presidents? And how did the national debt get so big anyway. This video tries to answer those questions by looking at the debt as a road trip and seeing how fast different administrations have been traveling.

Historical debt data:http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm

Inflation data: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

Future debt data (2010 – 2016):http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/fy2010_new_era/Summary_Tables2.pdf

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In the mid-20th century, the 1953 Agreement on German External Debts, which substantially reduced German’s war reparations, is a notable example of international debt relief. Part of the reasoning was that German’s World War I reparations were deeply resented in Germany, and credited internationally as a cause of World War II, and thus debt relief helped reconciliation and peace in Europe.

Third world debt

Debt relief for heavily indebted and underdeveloped developing countries was the subject in the 1990s of a campaign by a broad coalition of development NGOs, Christian organizations and others, under the banner of Jubilee 2000. This campaign, involving, for example, demonstrations at the 1998 G8 meeting in Birmingham, was successful in pushing debt relief onto the agenda of Western governments and international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative was ultimately launched to provide systematic debt relief for the poorest countries, whilst trying to ensure the money would be spent on poverty reduction.

The HIPC programme has been subject to conditionalities similar to those often attached to International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank loans, requiringstructural adjustment reforms, sometimes including the privatisation of public utilities, including water and electricity. To qualify for irrevocable debt relief, countries must also maintain macroeconomic stability and implement a Poverty Reduction Strategy satisfactorily for at least one year. Under the goal of reducing inflation, some countries have been pressured to reduce spending in the health and education sectors.

The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) is an extension of HIPC. The MDRI was agreed following the G8‘s Gleneagles meeting in July 2005. It offers 100% cancellation of multilateral debts owed by HIPC countries to the World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank.

Arguments against debt relief

Opponents of debt relief argue that it is a blank cheque to governments, and fear savings will not reach the poor in countries plagued by corruption. Others argue that countries will go out and contract further debts, under the belief that these debts will also be forgiven in some future date. They use the money to enhance the wealth and spending ability of the rich, many of whom will spend or invest this money in the rich countries, thus not even creating a trickle-down effect. They argue that the money would be far better spent in specific aid projects that actually help the poor. They further argue that it would be unfair to third-world countries that managed their credit successfully, or do not go into debt in the first place. That is, it actively encourages third-world governments to overspend in order to receive debt relief in the future. Others argue against the conditionalities attached to debt relief. These conditions of structural adjustment have a history, especially in Latin America, of widening the gap between the rich and the poor, as well as increasing economic dependence on the global North.^{[citation needed]}

Personal debt relief

Origins

Debt relief existed in a number of ancient societies:

• Debt forgiveness is mentioned in the Book of Leviticus, in which God councils Moses to forgive debts in certain cases every Jubilee year – at the end ofShmita, the last year of the seven year agricultural cycle or a 49-year cycle, depending on interpretation.
• This same theme was found in an ancient bilingual Hittite-Hurrian text entitled “The Song of Debt Release”.^[1]
• Debt forgiveness was also found in Ancient Athens, where in the 6th century BCE, the lawmaker Solon instituted a set of laws called seisachtheia,and which canceled all debts and retroactively canceled previous debts that had caused slavery and serfdom, freeing debt slaves and debt serfs.
• In addition, the Qur’an (the Muslim scripture) supports debt forgiveness unable to pay as an act of charity and remission of sins for the creditor. The injunction is as follows:

If the debtor is in difficulty, grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. But, if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew.

—Qur’an 2:280 ^[2]

Contemporary

Personal debt has become an increasingly large problem in many developed countries in recent years, due to credit bubbles. For instance, it is estimated that the average US household has $19,000 in non-mortgage debt. With such large debt loads, many individuals have difficulty making repayments on debts and are in need of help.

There are many companies who offer debt consolidation services. However, such services may not always be in the best interests of the person involved and may involve taking out a loan secured by a person’s home. Marketing materials are designed to persuade customers to take up the company’s offer rather than offering a personal best solution for reducing debt. Where debt has become a problem, it is often best to turn to an independent consumer’s association for advice before calling debt consolidation companies as consumer’s associations often have great experience with such problems and may be able to advise the most effective avenues for debt relief- for the price.

As long as some form of Chapter 7 bankruptcy debt relief exists within American law, the credit card companies must pay attention, and do as much as they can to help their clients repay debts through relatively traditional means (depending upon the service those clients have entered). Even leaving bankruptcy aside, it is in the best interest of credit card companies that their debtors at least feel some motivation to continue repaying their accounts and not simply disappear or view those ever growing balances as untouchable.

Tax treatment

In US tax law, debt forgiven is treated as income, as it reduces a liability, increasing the taxpayer’s net worth. In the context of the bursting of the United States housing bubble, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 provides that debt forgiven on a primary residence is not treated as income, for debts forgiven in the 3-year period 2007–2009. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extended this by 3 years to the 6-year period 2007–2012.

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Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_relief

Tags - government debt relief programs
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In a circular to Als, the HKMA has revealed the details of this chip-based ATM security controls and the corresponding implementation schedules, including upgrading the ATM terminals and carrying out the card replacement since early 2012. The implementation will take in phases as around 20 million ATM cards (including debit cards and credit cards) and about 2.900 ATM terminals will be involved. The replacement process is expected to be finished by March 2014 for debit cards and credit cards linked to cardholders’ bank accounts, and by end of 2015 for the remaining credit cards.

RBI wants banks to shift to chip-based ATMs to check fraud

With the protection of data by advanced security controls, the chip-based ATM transactions will offer greater security. The implementation of such technology will surely further enhance the security level of ATM services in Hong Kong. cardholders should always keep their card safe and protect their Personal Identification Number (PIN) at all times.

Shift to chip-based ATM cards: RBI panel – Indian Express

The new chip card will continue to feature a magnetic stripe for allowing overseas use since many overseas ATMs are still using magnetic stripe technology but with enhanced security measures to offer additional protection against unauthorized overseas ATM transactions. The cash withdrawal capability of overseas ATM will be pre-set as “deactivated” and before ATM cash withdrawal transactions could be conducted overseas it needs to be activated by cardholders through appropriated channels. Cardholders may also choose to restrict the time period and set a lower withdrawal limit for overseas transactions.

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The HKMA said it will keep working with the banking industry to monitor the latest technological developments review the need of introducing additional security measures from time to time.

The HKMA was established by the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioners of Banking on April 1st, 1993. Its main functions and responsibilities are governed by the Exchange Fund Ordinance and the Banking Ordinance and it reports to the Financial Secretary. It is the government authority in Hong Kong responsible for maintaining monetary and banking stability.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6322374

Electronic and online banking provides the freedom to manage your money 24/7. It’s safe, convenient and inexpensive. However criminals also use electronic banking to defraud people of their money. The main risks occur through scams known as ‘skimming’ and ‘phishing’. This flyer looks at how these scams work and outlines some simple steps you can take to keep your money safe.

ATM GUIDE

Guard your PIN, it’s the key to your account

Your Personal Identification Number (PIN) is the key to your account. Never divulge it to anyone. Neither the staff of the Commonwealth Bank, nor any other reputable organisation, or any individual will ever ask you to reveal your PIN in person, by phone or via email.

Protect yourself against skimming

‘Skimming’ is a means of capturing the data stored on the magnetic stripe of your debit or credit card. A skimming attack occurs when an illegal magnetic stripe reader is placed over the card insert slot of an ATM or EFTPOS machine. Your PIN is then captured by a false keypad or via a tiny camera mounted on the ATM, EFTPOS terminal, or simply by someone standing near you. Criminals need both your PIN and your card details to access your account. While it’s impossible to know when a skimming attack is occurring, some basic precautions can help protect your money.

1. Avoid ATMs that appear to have been tampered with

Watch out for tell-tale signs of ATM tampering. These may include unusual marks, scratches or adhesive tape around the card entry slot or keypad. Play it safe – if an ATM doesn’t look right,speak with Commonwealth Bank staff and use an alternative ATM.

2. Shield the keypad when you enter your PIN

Cover your hand when using an ATM or EFTPOS terminal to prevent your PIN being detected.

3. Change your PIN regularly

By changing your PIN regularly, you can reduce the risk of unauthorised transactions resulting
from card skimming.

4. Check your account balance and transactions regularly

The only way to know if your account has been skimmed is by reviewing your bank balance and credit card statements for unfamiliar entries. Make a habit of checking your account balance regularly. You can do this easily at any time via net banking.

TIP – You can decrease your daily ATM withdrawal limit within NetBank as a way of reducing risk. Then increase the limit for those times you may need extra cash.

‘Phishing’ – don’t take the bait

Phishing is a scam where criminals, who might masquerade as individuals, organisations or companies, contact you by email, SMS or over the phone, asking for personal or financial details. Phishing emails can look very authentic, even featuring the logo of the Commonwealth Bank or another organisation. However the tell-tale sign is that they contain a link – clicking on this link will take you to another website which asks for details of your accounts including your PIN. If you receive a phishing email do not click
immediately.

TIP – NetBank offers a very secure environment. You can trust the links within NetBank to other pages within the Commonwealth Bank website.

Visit >>>http://atmwatch.co.uk

Guide to ATM Technology

ATM Machine Guide

 

Source: commbank.com.au

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When the economy or personal issues and problems result in a high credit card debt, we often find our debt spread over three or four or more cards. So you may have a Visa, several MasterCards, a Discover card and a Capital One card and maybe many more each carrying several thousands of dollars of debt. The result is an ugly parade of bills from each company each needing a minimum payment that pays the interest and takes just a small amount off of your debt.

If it seems that the debt mountain never seems to go down, that’s not an illusion. The situation is not designed to help you get that debt down. It’s a cruel mixed message the credit industry sends us because if you have high credit card debt, your credit rating goes down. But even if you have too much debt, the credit card companies just keep raising your credit ceiling and sending more and more credit card offers to lure you into more debt.

The instinct is to keep taking out more accounts and transferring money to those deceptive zero percent offers that expire in a matter of months and leave you with yet another bill to pay that only makes managing that debt even more impossible. If you do get a little money ahead, the instinct is also to pay more down on the debts that have the highest interest rates to try to slow the erosion of your finances due to high rates.

But there is another approach to handling this debt that goes completely opposite your instincts and gives more control to you to begin seeing headway against those debts. But to use this approach, you will have to think with your head, not your emotions and not panic but think about how to get as much principle paid down as possible. This inside out approach to paying down your credit cards is simple and gives you a roadmap to freedom from debt.

First of all, stop taking out more accounts. That only gives another credit card company access to your money. They can charge you membership fees and try to lure you with credit insurance. If you have three or more credit resources already, that’s plenty.

Second, use short term offers wisely. If one of your existing accounts offers you a zero percent deal for a few months, take it but transfer a small amount to that account. Then you can focus on paying off that transferred amount and see 100% of your payment go against principle which is the fastest way out of debt.

Third, pick a card and pay it off. It might be the card with the lowest balance which is one you might give the least to so you can respond to the higher level debts. But if you pay that card off, that is one less bill coming in each month and it gives you a great feeling to know you are slowly killing off the monster of credit card debt one card at time.

That brings us to the cornerstone of the inside out method. Instead of paying on the card with the highest interest rate, pay them the minimum payment and put your excess funds against the cards with the lowest rate. In this way you are getting the most bang for your buck with the small amount of extra funds you may have to pay on the debt. That debt will go down more quickly and then you can attack the bigger accounts and begin to whittle away at them too. And by using a smart approach to the credit card debt you have, you take control of the problem and put it on a program to go away. And that will be the greatest feeling of them all.

Something too few tourists will ask before coming to Guanajuato, Mexico, for a visit is, “Can I use my ATM and credit card for everything or anything?” I have seen many a display of the Ugly American Syndrome in many restaurants and shops over this very issue.

So, to avoid the temptation of reinforcing the Ugly American Syndrome stereotype here in Guanajuato, let’s have a go at this topic.

The truth is that while you might be able to use your credit card in most of the typical tourist resort areas, I would not count on being able to use it here in Guanajuato. In some of the bigger, two-hundred-dollar a night hotels in this Colonial Mexican town, you can use your credit card. The hotels that have restaurants will usually take your credit card. However, outside the confines of your hotel, I wouldn’t bet the farm on being able to use your card.

The automatic teller machines are plentiful in Guanajauto and will dispense the local currency. You can get cash with different limits depending on the local bank. One of the banks will not dispense more than $3,000 pesos a day while others will dispense almost three times that amount.

There will be fees involved. Before traveling to Guanajuato, you need to check with the bank that issued your credit or ATM card to see what fees they charge. Some will charge for the use of foreign ATM or those outside their network. Make sure you tell them that you are going to be in Mexico and ask if your PIN will work in Mexico (some don’t work outside the USA). I would even go to your bank and talk with someone in person rather than call on the phone.

Banks in Mexico charge a fee for you to use their ATMs. So, you are going to have fees upon fees. Be sure you know this ahead of time to prevent yourself from going into shock. Currently, we are charged about 75 cents for using our American ATM card here in Mexico. We keep accounts in both the U.S. and Mexico.
You will be charged extra fees at any Mexican ATM. There is no avoiding it so be prepared and do not let something like this ruin your trip. You might be able to find banks in the U.S. that do not charge a fee for using an “alien” ATM in another country. Check around but this might be more of a hassle than it is worth.

Try to ask around to see what local Guanajuato banks will permit the biggest ATM withdrawls. Then, to avoid too many ATM fees, take out the maximum amount of pesos you can each day. This will keep you from incurring ATM fees each day.

In the state in which I live, but so far not in my city, there have been some ATM thieves that attach a false computer front to the ATM machine. It will have a slide mechanism for your card. This false front will tell you that there is no cash in the ATM while it recorded your account number and password.

Then these nasty characters clean out your account. The lesson is always go to the ATM’s where you have to insert rather than slide your card.

Local merchants, and there are very few, that do accept credit cards, seem very nervous when completing a transaction. This could be for several reasons. I always pay for everything in cash so as to avoid hassles. Even travelers checks are rarely accepted in the city. With your passport, you can go to most banks to cash these. But the banks have certain hours that they do this, so check before you get too low on cash.

A lot of gringos who want to see more of Mexico than the beach resorts have a difficult time adjusting to the differences. This credit and ATM card business seems radically different than it is in the coastal resorts. Too many fly into the costal resorts, spend a little time, then bus from the coast to central Mexico where one finds a different kind of tourism.

If the coastal areas take your credit card without a hitch, do not expect that in central Mexico. It is almost entirely a cash based society here. Pay with cash. It is so safe here compared with the resorts that you can walk around with larger sums of money than in other areas.

I’ve been in line in the bank when men, women, and children, yes kids, withdraw large sums of pesos. They fold it up, put it in a pocket or purse. They’re done.

You can do it too!

ATM Debit Cards

ATM debit cards have certainly made life a lot easier. For many people, carrying around a checkbook is a thing of the past. My debit card has been used so much I can barely see the numbers on it anymore. The downside, of course, is inevitably you will lose the card. For the unlucky, the card may even be stolen. If this occurs, you need to act quickly to cut off liability for any of the charges.

ATM debit cards are not credit cards for legal purposes. With a credit card, your liability is limited to $50 so long as you let the credit card company know about fraudulent charges when you get your statement. The laws governing ATM debit cards provide much less protection.

If you report an ATM debit card missing, you cannot be held liable for any subsequent withdrawals or charges. However, the rules are different if the unauthorized charges happen before you report the card missing:

1. You are responsible for losses up to $50 if you report the card missing or stolen within two business days of unauthorized charges occurring.

2. If you report the card lost or stolen after two business days have passed, you could be on the hook for up to $500 in unauthorized charges.

3. If you fail to report the lost or stolen card within 60 days of receiving a bank statement with unauthorized charges, you are totally and completely liable for all charges.

While these laws may see unfair at first, they really aren’t. I procrastinate as much as the next person, but even I wouldn’t wait 60 days to report a stolen or lost debit card. At some point, you simply have to take responsibility for your life. Heck, I don’t think I could survive two days without a debit card.

If you suffer a lost or stolen ATM debit card, contact your banking institution immediately. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

ATMs or Automated Teller Machines, are an essential part of modern life.

In many families both the adults work, making it impossible to reach the bank to withdraw cash. ATMs do make this possible.

ATMs are of two basic types, hole in the wall machines set into a reinforced bunker, and retailer cash machines, standing in shops and other premises. Retailer cash machines may be front or rear-loading.

Why are there so many ATMs?

Retailers want one in their premises. ATMs attract customers and over half of the money withdrawn from a retailer ATM is spent on the premises. There are some costs involved, with the retailer paying for phone line costs and power consumption of the ATM, so there has to be substantial benefits for so many retailers to be clamoring for an ATM.

Retailers have several choices. They can choose which bank network the ATM is connected, though the ATM will process transactions from customers of all banks.

The retailer can also choose to load the ATM with their own cash takings, saving bank charges and loading charges from Cash in Transit companies. This depends on the retailer having sufficient high quality notes to load the ATM once or twice each week, few people want to be doing this on a daily basis because it must be done with the premises in a secure condition and out of opening hours.

As an alternative to loading their own cash, retailers are increasingly asking the ATM providers to organize cash loading. A security company will survey the site, talk to the retailer about what is required in terms of security procedures, and assume responsibility for loading the machine. The security company may require a secure room, like an office, where the can work on the cash cassettes.

Retailers have a choice between front and rear loading machines. Rear loaders have to be accessible from front and rear, so are usually inserted in a solid wall, with an office or store room at the rear. The safe opens at the rear and they are loaded from the rear, so the store can stay open while the ATM is being loaded. Rear loaders are much more secure, from a cash loading perspective.

Front loading ATMs take up less space, but the security procedures when the ATM is being loaded are more intrusive. Some security companies will insist on shutters being down and the shop empty while the Cash in Transit crew are on the premises. Other companies will only insist on this while the ATM safe is only actually open.

The retailer must balance the inconvenience of locking the store while the security company are working, against the alternative inconvenience and security concerns of doing the job themselves before or after normal opening hours.Visit to - http://atmwatch.co.uk

The following article covers the liabilities of fraudulent activities for credit cards, ATM cards and debit cards.

Many people find it easy and convenient to use credit cards and ATM or debit cards. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) offer procedures for you to use if your cards are lost or stolen.

Limiting Your Financial Loss

It is faster and easier to process financial help transactions today than ever before. Thanks to the electronic age, check cards, debit cards, and ATM cards give us instant access to funds on deposit at the local bank or a financial institution miles away. This also provides an avenue of opportunity for thieves and scam artists to rapidly deplete our financial reserves as well.

There are laws in place that provide a measure of protection from total financial ruination, but you need to be aware of your rights and responsibilities should your cards be stolen or appropriated for mischief. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) are two laws implemented on a federal level that can assist individuals targeted by the criminal element. For the laws to work properly, however, you need to invoke the protective measures by doing certain things if your cards are lost or stolen such as reporting the loss or theft promptly to the issuers.

Limit Your Financial Loss

As soon as you discover the loss or possible theft of your credit cards and your ATM or debit cards you must immediately notify the companies that issued the cards so they will have that fact on record and can monitor the cards for unusual activities. You can usually find toll-free numbers for the 24 hour help line on the back of the card or on your billing statement. It is a good idea to make a list of your cards, along with the account identification and the toll-free numbers, for reporting their loss. When you travel be sure to keep this information separate from the cards so you will have access to the information should you have a need to make a report while away from home.

Keep a record of the companies you notified. Follow up the phone call with a letter that includes all of the pertinent information such as account number, when you noticed your card was missing, and the date you first reported the loss.

As a side note, you might want to check your homeowner’s insurance policy to see if it covers the liability amount you are responsible for in the case of theft. If you do not currently have such coverage, you might want to contact your insurer to include this protection in your policy.

Under the Credit Card Loss or Fraudulent Charges (FCBA) act, the maximum liability for illegal use of your credit card is $50 per card. If you report the loss before any unauthorized charges are posted you cannot be held liable for any of the charges. If the charges are made using your account number, but not the card itself, you will not be held responsible for any of the charges. The FCBA specifically says the card issuer cannot hold you responsible for any unauthorized charges and limits your loss to $50 of the charges made on the cards prior to you reporting them lost or stolen.

You should always review your card billing statements for errors, but following the loss or theft of the cards you should be even more diligent. If you notice anything amiss in the statement, send a letter to the card issuer along with a description of the questionable charge. Remind them of the phone call you made and the letter you previously sent notifying them of the loss or theft of the cards. There is usually a separate address on the statement to which you will direct billing errors. Do not send the letter along with your payment unless you are directed to do so by the card company.

The Electronic Fraudulent Transfer Act (EFTA) also protects you from fraudulent use of your bankcards. Federal protection from loss due to unauthorized use of your ATM or debit card depends on how quickly you report the loss. For example, if you report the loss before the card is used, the EFTA protects you from any loss. If the report is made within two business days after noticing the loss you will not be responsible for more than $50 on each card.

If you fail to make a report within two business days after you discover the loss, you could be held responsible for up to $500. If you wait more than 60 days after you receive a billing statement reflecting fraudulent activity to make a report, you risk unlimited loss. For example, if you do not file a timely report on the theft of the cards, you could lose not only all of the money in the account, but also be held liable for the amount of overdraft protection you are granted. You must report unauthorized use, loss, or theft of the cards within 60 days of the mailing of your card statement or face unlimited loss. You are liable for charges made between the date of loss and the date the loss was reported. If the thief only uses your account number and not the card itself, however, you will not be held accountable for those charges.

Protecting Your Cards

To protect yourself against fraudulent use of your cards, you should know where they are at all times and keep them safe and secure. If your card requires a password or personal identification number (PIN), don’t write the number down so the thieves will get the code along with your cards. Do not use your address, birth date, phone or Social Security number as the PIN. Commit the pass code to memory and don’t share the information with anyone.

In addition, the following suggestions may help you protect your credit card and ATM or debit card accounts.

For Credit and ATM or Debit Cards:

* Do not reveal your account number over the phone unless you know you’re dealing with a reputable company.
* Never put your account number on the outside of an envelope or on a postcard.
* Draw a line through blank spaces on charge or debit slips above the total so the amount cannot be changed.
* Don’t sign a blank charge or debit slip.
* Tear up carbons and save your receipts to check against your monthly statements.
* Cut up old cards – cutting through the account number – before disposing of them.
* Open monthly statements promptly and compare them with your receipts. Report mistakes or discrepancies as soon as possible to the special address listed on your statement for inquiries. (For more information on the federal laws regarding FCBA and EFTA, click here)
* Keep a record – in a safe place separate from your cards – of your account numbers, expiration dates, and the telephone numbers of each card issuer so you can report a loss quickly.
* Carry with you only those cards that you anticipate you’ll need.

For ATM or debit cards:

* Don’t carry your PIN in your wallet or purse or write it on your ATM or debit card.
* Never write your PIN on the outside of a deposit slip, an envelope, or other papers that could be easily lost or seen.
* Carefully check ATM or debit card transactions before you enter the PIN or before you sign the receipt; the funds for this item will be fairly quickly transferred out of your checking or other deposit account.
* Periodically check your account activity. This is particularly important if you bank online. Compare the current balance and recent withdrawals or transfers to those you’ve recorded, including your current ATM and debit card withdrawals and purchases and your recent checks. If you notice transactions you didn’t make, or if your balance has dropped suddenly without activity by you, immediately report the problem to your card issuer. Someone may have co-opted your account information to commit fraud.

Paying For A Registration Service

There are service providers who, for an annual fee, will contact all of your credit card and ATM bank card issuers in the case of theft or loss of your cards. This service will notify the issuers and request new cards for you, but other than allowing you to make one phone call and saving you from making numerous phone calls yourself, you do not need this service.

The FCBA and the EFTA allows you to contact your card issuers’ customer service department directly to notify them of the theft, loss or unauthorized use of your cards. If however, you would enjoy the convenience of a notification service to make the calls for you, be sure to compare the companies’ offer versus the fees they charge. Be sure your card issuer will work with such a service and find out if the service pays any fees if they fail to notify the card company in a timely manner and you incur charges on your card.

If you decide to purchase service from a registration company, compare offers. Carefully read the contract to determine the company’s obligations and your liability. For example, will the company reimburse you if it fails to notify card issuers promptly once you’ve called in the loss to the service? If not, you could be liable for unauthorized charges or transfers . Get Personal Finance.

If you’re reading this article, then the answer is probably yes, but before we get ahead of ourselves. You need to ask yourself a few questions regarding the actual location you plan on placing your new ATM machine.

1. Do you have customers asking for the location of the nearest ATM machine?
2. Do you have at least 200 people a day visiting your location?

If you answered yes to both of these ATM related questions. Then I’m about to show you why you need to buy an ATM machine and how your going to make a great profit with little or no effort.

The key to being successful in the ATM business is to find ATM placement locations that will make you money. ATM sales are based on traffic count, so let’s figure out how many people will use your new ATM machine on a daily basis. The formula I am about to show you is the same formula that is used by every ATM dealer and ATM distributor in the country when placing ATM machines. Trust me when I tell you this formula is tried and true.

ATM dealers and ATM distributors look at one thing when deciding weather or not to place an ATM machine at a particular location. The rule of thumb goes like this. 3% – 5% of the foot traffic that actually sees the ATM machine will use the ATM. So let’s figure that you have a total of 300 people a day coming through your doors, and let’s say that you are charging a $2.25 surcharge per valid withdrawal. If you take the middle road that 4% of the people that see the ATM machine will use it. Then you can count on your new automated teller machine to generate you a minimum of 360 transactions per month at $2.25 per valid withdrawal. That comes out to $810 per month or a total of $9,720 per year. All that from one ATM machine at one location.

The next question is how much will your new ATM machine cost. This question is a little harder to answer simply because there are so many ATM machines to choose from. Such as Class 1 Armored ATM machines, Indoor ATM machines like the Triton 9100 ATM machine, Through-The-Wall ATM machines, Scrip ATMS, etc. But one thing I can tell you is that 75% of the ATM machines used in non-bank locations are non-armored ATM machines. A good non-armored ATM machine is the Triton 9100 ATM machine. The Triton 9100 ATM can be purchased from either an ATM dealer or an ATM distributor servicing your area. The price for the 9100 should range between $2,950 and $3,800 depending on what options you choose.

So there you have it, if you have customers that are currently asking you for the closest ATM, or if you have a large amount of foot traffic coming in or walking by your location on a daily basis. Then you will most definitely profit from owning your very own ATM machine.