Monthly Archives: May 2019

10 Most favorable credit cards for students

After this article you will know about 10 best credit cards for students which provide students with the best features on the market.

1) Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students

This option is preferable for U.S citizens. This credit card offers for students a 1% cashback and a special 3% cashback which you can choose for yourself! APR is changeable and varies from 16 to 26%. The percentage of APR is usually considered based on your credit history so this card is not a credit card for students with bad credit.

2) Citi Rewards+ Student Card

This card has a branched point system. For every purchase, you earn a particular amount of points which then can be exchanged for dollars. In some special places like supermarkets and gas stations, you will earn double points. APR percentage is also variable and equals from 16 to 26 percent. Probably not one of the best credit cards for students but still a good option.

3) Discover it® Student Cash Back

If you are keen on cashback then this one is for you. It is one of the top credit cards for students which are available on the market. With this one, you can receive a monstrous 5% cashback which is a lot for student’s card. Other perks are similar. This credit card offers for studentsAPR from 15 to 25% which is a nice addition

4) Discover it® Secured

Wenn you ask me what is the best credit card for students I would that this is that one. It refers as  best credit cards for people with no credit and credit cards for students with bad credit. It requires a really low first deposit, moreover, it can be returned if the owner will prove his payment ability for some period of time. Besides, it has other great features such as 2% cashback on all purchases at gasoline stations and fast food restaurants.

5) Capital One® Secured Mastercard®

This one is also a good decision for people who want to improve their credit rating. The minimal deposit on this card can be only 49$! This is probably the lowest deposit on the credit card which is possible. Also, it can be useful to track your finances. Still, APR is pretty high but other advantages overweigh disadvantages and it is the best credit cards for people with no credit.

Don’t forget that the most important thing for the student’s credit card is to pay all the bills on time. It can help you to build your credit rating fast and don’t worsen the situation with already existing credit rating.

Remember to make your own research while choosing the credit card. Whether you are interested in cashback services or in raising your APR it is almost impossible to find a credit card which will fit all your requirements and combines all perks. Choose one which is in the priority for you or order more than one card.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Investing In Gold

Advantages and Disadvantages of Investing In Gold

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According to most novice investors, gold coins and bullions are the most secure ways of protecting financial assets. However, they come with potential advantages and disadvantages similarly to any other investment.

Therefore, in case that you wish to make a purchase, you should know potential rewards and risks that will come with that decision.

You can easily find both bullions and gold bars for sale so that you can take advantage of price swings. Even though people think that it is the safest bet, the prices can go both downside and upside based on various worldwide factors.

Therefore, you have to consider gold as the perfect solution that will help you get financial stability you always wanted. Most investors state that buying gold is not that simple, and it is an approach that you have to understand.

That is why you should stay with us to see the advantages and disadvantages of investing in gold:

Benefits of Buying Gold

  • It Is Simple To Sell Them – The main reason why people are so interested in buying gold for investment purposes is due to the idea that they can liquidate it in a matter of days without any additional problem. Since most people use it daily for jewelry and other reasons, you will be able to find the usage that will appeal both you and your future buyers.
  • Possessing Gold Is Satisfying – Have you ever hold a golden coin in your hands? It is the best thing ever, and in a matter of minutes, you will notice that you will be carried away and enjoy its appearance and shine. We tend to love gold since it is something that we use for various purposes, and the most popular application is in the jewelry industry.
  • Stable Price During Financial Crisis – You have probably noticed what happened in 2007 after the mortgage crisis took down several banks and caused a severe financial crisis, which is still undergoing and causing effects. During that period, due to the idea that money is losing value, investors tend to spend their funds into buying gold as the safety that will remain stable during hard times. Another vital factor that you should consider is that when the financial situation in the world goes better, the price goes down as a result.

Disadvantages of Buying Gold

  • You Have To Pay Premiums As Well – Since gold has stable price determined by the world’s market, dealers tend to charge premiums due to additional expenses they had such as storage, transportation and many more. It means that you have to pay extra amount apart from the ounce value, which is something you should consider when creating a budget.
  • It Is Difficult To Verify Old Coins – If you are a collector, you will have to pay a significant price tag so that you can determine the value of coins you have. Numismatic coins are highly, but the main problem with them is a subjective price that would depend on the dealer and your wish to get it. The price depends on rarity, historical significance, and other factors as well, which is why you should see to it before you do anything about it.
  • It Is Unsafe To Keep It At Home – Since we live in the world filled with crime and wish to get fast money, as soon as someone notices that you have gold inside your house, the next thing you will see is burglary attempt. You can invest in household security such as video surveillance as well as getting high-end safe, but that will be another significant investment that you have to handle. On the other hand, you will also be able to find an agency in which you can hold it, but you also have to pay for monthly fees, which will create a hassle and hole in your budget until you decide to liquidate everything.

Check here to learn more on gold and its properties.

Final Word

It does not matter what you decide to do, because these advantages and disadvantages will help you determine whether investing in gold is a sound idea or not.

In case that you want to invest without knowledge, that may lead to problems and financial issues as well. That is the main reason why you should inform yourself ultimately.

Drawing the Line Between Legitimate Fraud and Friendly Fraud

Fraud is evolving faster, maybe as quick as e-commerce is- when companies get savvy, fraudsters look for other loopholes.

Regrettably, it is getting costlier and more prevalent every year.  Juniper Research, a market analyst, predicted that retailers would lose $130 billion in the coming five years because of card-not-present fraud. But that’s not the only way criminals can attack you- they use a web of interconnected loopholes to exploit you.

The global expansion of e-commerce: Every market has risk, so as e-commerce grows, tricksters will keep looking for more ways to breach you.

Conflicting security policies and practices: Contradicting and weak industry rules and regulations. Site owners are not also compliant, which gives a gap for online criminals.

EMV liability: In-stores are becoming more impenetrable; perpetrators are turning online fraud as an easy way to get money.

Brand-new tech: It is challenging to keep updating security policies with the speed at which tech is improving.

For merchants, safeguarding oneself in the digital market should be priority number one. Failure to do so may lead to irreparable damage.

For instance, though chargebacks exist as legal recourse to help buyers/consumers recover their money in case of fraud, they are doing more harm than good to retailers. And because you also to want to protect your customers but not at the expense of your business, it helps to know how to draw the line between legitimate fraud and friendly fraud

Legit Reasons For a Customer to File a Chargeback

If a trickster completes a transaction with stolen cardholder details, the card-holding customer has a right to petition a chargeback.

Account takeover, on the other hand, is when occurs, a scammer uses partial or full user info to take control of a user’s account. Hackers do this by phishing websites or use other data-stealing techniques.

In fast fraud, the cybercriminal gets hands on cardholder payment info and tries to complete multiple transactions as soon as they can before someone raises a red flag.

All the above techniques are unique and require security measures to discover and prevent them. To start with should conduct fraud scoring. It involves monitoring different metrics to see the possibility that a transaction is deceitful. You can make a decision based on fraud indicators like:

  • Device fingerprinting
  • AVS (address verification service)
  • Geolocation
  • Proxy piercing  
  • Velocity checking
  • Biometrics (for smartphone apps like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay)
  • Friendly (Fraudulent) Chargebacks

Though chargebacks are a great way to protect your shoppers, but most of them these days are the result of criminal fraud. In fact, friendly fraud is a growing e-commerce threat. It happens when a customer petitions a chargeback without tangible proof.

Most chargebacks are triggered by;

Shopper expectation: Today’s online market assures consumers of instant gratification. Anything less will lead to a chargeback request.

Ignorance or lack of knowledge: Most customers don’t know the niceties of the process- for many, a return and chargeback are the same things.

Online shoplifting: best known as chargeback fraud, this occurs when a shopper completes a purchase to file a chargeback later so they can get a product and not pay for it.

Consumer’s self-reproach: A customer decides they no longer want a service or good and rush to the bank instead of requesting a return from the seller or service provider.

The bottom line

According to figures from Chargebacks911’s research, 60 -80 percent of chargebacks are due to friendly fraud. These numbers are threatening given that chargebacks incurred businesses $31 billion in losses via revenue, products, and fees in 2017.

Merchants must now take seriously any chargeback and employ the best practices when trading online.  The challenge is to serve customers without compromising your bottom line.

Author Bio: Electronic payments expert Blair Thomas is the co-founder of high risk payment processing company eMerchantBroker. He’s just as passionate about high risk merchant account as he is with traveling and spending time with his dog Cooper.