All posts in Credit Card

Go Green With Credit Card

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Barclaycard are the latest company to offer a green product to its growing ethically concerned customers who want to lower their carbon footprints. They have announced that their new eco-friendly credit card will be called Breathe. To ensure its green credentials the card is made from PETG which is the greener alternative to plastic. There will also be no paper statements, they will offer recycling for expired cards and all advertising for the Breathe card will be done online. The card offers customers discounts and low rate borrowing when green products are bought. In addition to this Barclaycard will give 50% of after tax profits (estimated at 1 million in its first year) from the card to environmental projects that are dedicated to reducing carbon emissions.

Barclaycard have also recently, along with eight other market leaders B&Q, British Gas, Marks & Spencer, Sky, Tesco, Royal & Sun Alliance and O2, launched a government backed campaign titled Were in this together which aims to help every UK household cut their carbon emissions by one tonne over the next three years.

Barclaycard isnt the only lender to be catering to the growing demand for ethical borrowing. Virgin have also launched a green credit card and claim that they have beaten Barclaycard in the green stakes because their card is bio-degradable and they also promise not to just pay lip-service to the environment but offer on-going dedication to environmental issues. The Co-operative Bank is generally regarded as being the most ethical with all their financial services offering environmental incentives.

The growing popularity of green financial products is encouraging more people to consider an ethical approach to their finances. Not only are they looking at their own environmental positions but they are also showing concern at what their banks and financial companies are doing for the environment.

HBOS, the Abbey and the Yorkshire Building Society have both announced plans to introduce green financial products and you should expect many more credit card lenders following suit.

How to avoid paying too much in Credit Card Processing Fees

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I’m sure as a business owner you have enough to do without having to figure out how Credit Card Interchange Fees work. The good new is it’s not that complicated. There are hundreds of different interchange fees, what is important is to understand that interchange is essentially the wholesale rate that banks charge each other in order to process a credit card or debit card transaction. It is the cost of doing business, usually around two percent of the transaction amount.

Although the card companies set interchange rates there are things you can do to help avoid paying too much.

Review Your Charges Annually

At least twice a year (generally every April and October), Visa and MasterCard re-assess their processes, regulations and fees then announce rate changes and new fees. Many times your existing provider will layer on additional rate increases above the Interchange adjustments. Call another provider, fax in your merchant statement and have your account analyzed to “catch” these hidden rate increases.

Use an Interchange Pass Through Program

In order to pay the lowest fees when processing credit cards, a merchant’s goal is to pay as close to interchange as possible. A merchant account that uses an Interchange Pass Through pricing method applies processing fees by adding a small percentage to the actual Interchange Rate for every transaction and all dues and assessments are passed through directly at cost. This ensures that you only pay the true interchange rate in addition to a small mark-up that goes to their merchant service provider. Many times your existing provider will layer on additional rate increases above the Interchange adjustments. Call another provider, fax in your merchant statement and have your account analyzed to “catch” these hidden rate increases.

Avoid Downgrades Whenever Possible

A downgrade occurs when a transaction falls to a higher rate then what your business may qualify for. Whenever possible swipe the card at the point of sale device in order to reduce fraud and qualify for your lowest rate. For those of you that own some sort of on-site service or repair business, invest in either a wireless credit card processing terminal or look at some of the newer solutions such as RoamPay or PayWare mobile which allow you to use your mobile phone as a point of sale device.

Obtain the Correct Billing Information

In order to avoid downgrades for Card Not Present Transactions always obtain the correct billing information for the card being used. Credit Card Companies use an Address Verification Service (AVS) for Domestic Cards to determine if the billing information you enter matches the Card you are keying in. Always collect the Billing Address of the Card including the Postal Code as well as the Card Verification Code. The Card Code is the 3 Digit Number at the end of the Signature Panel on the back of the card for Visa, MasterCard and Discover. For American Express it is the 4 digit number on the front right hand side of the card above the last 5 digits of the card number.

Make Sure your Point of Sale Device is Programmed Properly

If your Point of Sale Device is not prompting you for Billing Address information as well as the Card Code, contact your Merchant Service Provider right away to get your device updated in order to pass that information to the Credit Card Companies. Another way transactions can downgrade is if you do not Settle or Batch your transactions within 24 Hours of obtaining an Authorization. Virtually all point of sale devices have the ability to Auto-Settle or Auto-Close at a specified time on a daily basis. If your device does not have that option enabled, contact your Merchant Service Provider right away to get your program updated.

Train Your Staff

If you are not the person directly responsible for processing credit cards at your company it is important that you properly train your staff to avoid downgrades. Routinely observe your cashiers, monitor transactions and carefully review your month end processing statements.

Erase Bad Credit Illegally-How Illegal Credit Repair Works and Why You Should Avoid It

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If your credit is bad and you need to boost your scores quickly your mind may have wondered down the wrong path and made you think what is the quickest way to erase bad credit illegally. While it is possible to illegally remove bad credit it should be avoided! >

How Illegal Credit Repair Works

Generally the most common way that people erase negative credit from their reports by breaking the law is to create a new credit profile.

This is done by applying for a EIN or TIN number from the United States Federal Government. These numbers are normally reserved for employers or people legally in the USA temporarily. If you apply for one of these numbers you can effectively use it to start a new credit profile that is fresh and clean.

However this has been going on a long time and electronic measures have been put into play by the major credit bureaus and they will eventually uncover what you are doing. If you are discovered it is a real possibility that you could be charged with a felony if you are not using the EIN or TIN numbers for their intended purposes.

Why Not Clean Up Your credit Legally Instead

If you have bad credit and want to clean it up you have the legal right to dispute any of the information that is showing on our credit report. Even if this negative information is factual you can still dispute it and under the rule of law the account issuer has to prove you wrong and not the other way around.
If you want to Legally Raise Credit scores and clean up your credit report fast log onto and learn more about our LEGAL and proven credit repair plan

The Basic Credit Card Types

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High interest rates Unfavorable interest calculations. A credit card may calculate interest charges based on average daily balance, not on the balance due. No grace period. Some credit cards might charge interest from the date of purchase until payment date, even if you pay off your balance. Nuisance fees. Try to do away with credit cards that have late-payment fees, over-limit fees, fees for not carrying a balance or only a balance below a certain level, or a percentage fee on your credit limit.

The modern bank credit card was first introduced in the 1960s by the Bank of America; the travel and entertainment credit cards were both introduced in the 1950s. Much may changed since then in terms of features and benefits, but the basic characteristics of each type of credit card have remained the same.

Why is it hard to eliminate credit card debt

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The problem with credit card debt is that it is very easy to get into but hard to get out. (some people associate it with a bad marriage, and it is really similar to it). To get into a credit card debt is even easier than any other debt, because the plastic is just there in out wallet all the time, as an easy solution, and we tend to use it as a “quick fix. Credit card debt reduction is although a different story, to get out of credit card debt you need discipline and planning to reduce your outgoings and change your attitude towards your spendings.

Getting to a stage when you realize that you must eliminate your credit card debt before it gets out of control is kind of scary experience. When you realize that you need to find a solution because there is no other way out, and you cannot carry on piling up interest on your debt. How do you start to reduce credit card debt? You can start with preventing it from increasing and paying off the capital or getting a lower interest credit scheme, therefore reducing your total credit card debt (credit plus monthly interest). Sound simple, doesn’t it?

Not really. The truth is that it is not at all simple and people easily get confused by the number of offers thrown at them, and we still have so many people with credit card debt related issues. If it was that simple, all those people would have already gone ahead and finally eliminated them or at least reduced them significantly. You an find loads of information on how to reduce credit card debt, but still nothing much seems to provide you with the “easy” button you are really looking for. Your problem still seems to persist or just gets worse with time. Once you can overcome the confusion and can dig to the bottom of the problems, credit card debt can be resolved easily. As mentioned, there is plenty of advice available on how to reduce credit card debt and some of these resources are originated by professionals who are experts on the credit card debt consolidation field. All you have to do is follow the advice and put them in practice. In the end of the day the only person who will benefit from eliminating credit card debt is you alone.

Other than following the step by step instructions of your credit card debt consolidation plan, there are more methods to eliminate credit card debt. You can always seek assistance either at your own credit card company or an independent credit card debt specialist. Remember: Your credit card company wants their money back, so most of the times they are ready to compromise, give you a lower APR or freeze the interest if you agree a credit card debt consolidation plan.

Remember: if you are not confident enough to negotiate a deal with your credit card company, there are many companies who are willing to support you and also offer free credit card debt consolidation consultation.