Online Financial Tips

Archive for December, 2010

As an online merchant accepting credit card payments, you have numerous security issues that you must be aware of for the safety of your business and your consumers. At this time, there are two main aspects of credit card security for credit card processing, including “AVS” and “CVV”. Both allow credit card transactions to be completed anonymously over the internet, and any merchant accepting credit cards online should require both forms of information of your customers.

Address Verification Service

The “AVS”, or address verification service, is used to determine that the address provided by a customer matches the address associated with a credit card account. This helps generate confidence that the person who is entering the credit card details is the person who owns it. While the AVS is not required to process credit card transactions, when it is provided the transaction processor will send a response back with details of how much of the address provided matches the address on the credit card.

A credit card will not be denied if the address is entered wrong, it is up to the merchant to decide what to do if the address only matches partially or not at all. You can deny the sale, or require the buyer submit additional information, or give them the opportunity to correct the address information, before processing the transaction.

Card Verification Value

The “CVV”, or card verification value, sometimes referred to as the CVV-2 is a three to four digit number found on the back of American Express, MasterCard and Visa cards. It’s on the card but not on any statements, so that if an individual has found a credit card statement in the trash, they aren’t able to complete a sale that requires the CVV code for verification purposes. When a customer is able to enter the CVV code, it’s a strong indication that the customer has the credit card in hand, which increases the potential of the card belonging to the person who is attempting to use it to make a purchase online.

Most credit card fraud online occurs when a thief has found a discarded receipt or a thrown out credit card statement, but by requiring the CVV code, the merchant can eliminate that type of fraud.

If a CVV number is entered and is incorrect, the transaction will be declined by the credit card issuer.

Providing Consumers with Top Security

If you are going to accept credit cards online for payment for products or services offered through your website, it’s imperative that you provide your customers with a guarantee that you’re protecting their credit card information.

Credit card processing typically requires that the customer’s information is transferred about four times, which means there are four instances when someone could gain access to the cardholder’s details.
When a customer first sends the credit card information to you via your checkout or web based form. You are solely responsible for security as the internet merchant, at this stage in the credit card transaction process. Having a secure server and a valid security certificate with the https protocol will protect and encrypt private information you receive from customers.

You will want to be sure that the credit card transaction processing software you use for your business is secure by using a reputable processing company.
As customer information is moved in and out of a database through the transaction process, the security must be top of the line- and this is ensured by choosing a solid company that offers encrypted software for this part of the process.

Finally, when customer credit card information is viewed or handled by you or your staff, it’s important that you ensure security at this stage as well.

In the world of home equity loans there are undeniably two sides to deal with – those with benefits and those with risks. Through tapping into home equity values, fortunes have been made and loses have also been tallied. Digging into one’s home equity is thus a daring and uncertain motion. Whether taking from one’s home equity is due to household financial reasons, personal business desires or investing pursuits know that there are of course benefits, but also, weighted risks involved.

Notice: Home Equity Loans Are Not Without Risk

Typically, when any type of loan is taken out the individual taking out that loan should be aware of the risks involved. In the case of home equity loans, this same notion carries over, specifically for interest-only home equity lines of credit or what are commonly known as interest-only HELOCs. These types of loans are of a great advantage to individuals looking for some serious funding. HELOCs offer home owners a substantial amount of funds all at a fair rate. Yet, these types of loans aren’t completely fool proof – they do have risks.

First, Consider The Benefits Attached to HELOCs

Home equity lines of credit are, on some level, quite similar to credit cards. Thus, what occurs when you get a HELOC is a bit akin to what happens with you get a credit card. A credit limit is given to you and you can take funds from it as needed or as seen fit. And the only interest paid here is on the amount of money you actually use or borrow. The only difference here between a HELOC and a credit card is that credit cards are unsecured, whereas money in a HELOC is secured in and against the equity value built up in your home.

Another benefit exists in the fact that if you are unhappy with your already reasonable HELOC rate that many lenders or banks will actually allow you to convert over to a fixed-rate HELOC; this is of course only possible if you feel the variable rate has inflated a bit. Better still, since these loans are interest-only types, payments are allowed to be focused toward only the interest for a specified length of time, ranging anywhere from the first five to ten years of the loan’s life.

Benefits Are Initially Yours, But What Comes Afterward?

Once the start up and introductory periods are over a few things change. Your lender will up the amount due on your required payments, making loan payments rise and forcing you to initiate the paying off the substance of the loan’s principal.

This said, it’s essential that you know ahead of time -being before you apply for and get an interest-only HELOC- that you’ll be able to afford the newly increased payment amounts once they’re put forth. If you’re using wishful thinking and banking on acquiring extra money (enough to satisfy the inflated payments) down the line then you shouldn’t get a HELOC. Work within your budget and map out your financial future making sure that paying them from beginning to end is within your realistic means. If you don’t prepare ahead of time and jump right in, it’s quite possible to fall behind on making mortgage payments, which could in effect, smudge your credit and worse case, lead you to forfeit your home entirely.

Gas prices have doubled since last year and naturally, every motorist is seeing a doubled gas expense. These increases however cause a bigger strain on business establishments especially those that heavily depend on transportation to deliver products and services. Fortunately, there is a way to stretch gas money budget and this is by using gas credit cards.

Convenient Way to Save

Gas credit cards are easy to use; just use it to pay for gas purchases and your savings are automatically accumulated. For every gas purchase, gas credit cards offer 2% to 5% rebates. These rebates are accumulated in the form of rewards points which can be redeemed into cash back when they reach a certain predetermined amount. Usually, cash back rewards are credited to the existing card so it can be used for gas purchases as well. This definitely spells convenient and hassle-free savings.

There is also more to rewards than cash backs. Other companies offer airline tickets and gift certificates. If delivering your products and services involve air travel, then airline ticket rewards may be enticing to you.

Multiple Cards

To maximize your gas savings, it would be best to use gas credit card for every gas purchase. This may prove to be a hassle if you only have one card and more than one vehicle. Fortunately, you can apply for multiple gas cards so you don’t miss out on any opportunity for savings.

Improve Credit Score

We all know how important a credit score or history to a business is. When you apply for bank loans or other types of loans, your credit score or history must be good, if not perfect. Using gas credit cards can actually help you and your business improve credit standing. All you have to do is be diligent in paying your bills.

With these benefits that you get from gas credit cards, your business can definitely save big on gas money!

A home equity mortgage in today’s marketplace is more difficult to locate, but still not impossible. Determining when the right time to make such an effort is more complicated. The number of reasons for obtaining such a mortgage is as varied as the people who are looking for mortgages. Although hindsight is always better than foresight, picking the right time to take advantage of the equity in your home by taking out a mortgage is more likely when you understand the factors of the loans and determine whether or not you should take out the loan.

When Rates are Low

When you are looking for the perfect time to obtain a home equity mortgage, it seems like a logical assumption to pick a time for acquiring the mortgage when the rates are at their lowest. Obviously, you are never going to be certain the rate is as low as it will ever be. However, if the rates are not much higher than the best credit loans, it may be a good time to apply for your new equity loan. When rates are low overall, you will certainly pay less than if you were to acquire the same loan when interest rates are higher.

When Housing Prices Dip

Looking for a home equity mortgage when the prices on houses dip is another way to save money on your mortgage. Of course, it is impossible to know when the prices are at their lowest point, but if you are watching the housing market, you will get a feel for small movements in the market. You can take advantage of these dips in order to save a little money on the price of your mortgage. Sometimes there is a steady movement in one direction or the other with housing prices. You will still be able to pick up a better price by watching for the small dips in the market.

When You Outgrow Your Present Home

Getting a home equity mortgage when you are in the situation where you have outgrown your present home makes a lot of sense. The right time to get a new mortgage in this instance is to do so when you are ready to make the move to larger quarters. You may also choose to improve the value of your existing property by renovating the home and replacing dated features. This type of mortgage provides you with the cash value of the equity of your home. Even if the space is just barely adequate, you can always find a balance amount.

When you Move

Finally, a home equity mortgage may be a good idea when you move. Finding a home that has a large amount of equity means you don’t have to go to an outside loan for the cash you need. Instead, you take out cash from the equity of your home. The money can be used to get housing improvements made, to add additional living space or to purchase furnishings that are known for credit cleansing.

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Choosing the right home equity lender for your loan is important, since each lender that you consider may have their own interest rates and loan terms that may be better or worse than your other options.

In order to make sure that you pick the best home equity lender for the money that you borrow, take the time to research your options and compare the offerings of a number of different potential loan providers. To help you with your search, please consider this information on how to find the home equity lender that will best meet your specific home equity loan needs.

Equity Lending

If you’re planning on finding a home equity lender to get you the loan that you want, it’s important that you take a little bit of time first to make sure that you understand exactly what equity is and how it can be used for loans. Equity is a measure of the true value of your home, which can be determined by subtracting the amount that you still owe on your mortgage from the total value of your home and property. This means that equity is generally high in value, easy for lenders to work with, and continues to increase as you continue to make payments against your mortgage.

When you take out a loan and use the equity that you’ve built up as collateral, then you reduce the total amount of equity that you have but at the same time are able to get greatly reduced interest rates and much more flexible loan terms than you might be eligible for otherwise.

Rates and Terms

The interest rates and loan repayment terms that are offered by your home equity lender will likely vary from one lender to the next and will depend somewhat on the amount that you wish to borrow, the value of your equity, and your credit history.

With most home equity loans, however, you will find that the interest rates are lower than many other loans for the same amount, and the terms by which the loan needs to be repaid can be much more flexible. Even individuals who have had credit problems in the past are generally able to secure a lower interest rate with an equity loan than they would be able to qualify for otherwise.

Loan Comparison

To make sure that you get the best deal that you can from your home equity lender, you should take the time to shop around and compare loan offers from a variety of different lenders and then choose the one that offers you the lowest interest rate and most flexible loan terms that you can find.

Remember to consider banks, finance companies, mortgage lenders, and even online lenders in your search, and request thorough loan quotes so that you’ll have all the information that you need to compare the offers.

This way you’ll be sure to find the best home equity lender for your loan, and be able to save quite a bit of money on loan repayment.