Credit Card debts: Causes and Prevention

A credit card is a system of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. In the case of credit cards, the issuer lends money to the consumer (or the user) to be paid later to the merchant. Credit card allows the consumer to 'revolve' their balance, but at the cost of having interest charged.

The reasons of overspent the credit card can be due to the user’s attitude. When you pay cash, you can "feel" the money leaving you. This is not true with credit cards. Flipping a credit card up on a counter registers nothing emotionally. Besides that, with using the credit card, it would be harder for you to know that how much you have spent so far, especially for those who are poor in manage their finance. In addition, if users cannot pay for the bills on time, the amount that you need to pay will become bigger and bigger since the interest imposed is high.

To prevent credit card debts become your burden, try to use less of plastic card. If you ‘have to’ use plastic, debit card can be an alternative way. Moreover, you should do a personal budget in order to understand how much money is available for you to spend and so on. Thirdly, yet importantly, clear all the card’s bills every months in order to avoid paying high interest amount. Don’t ever look down on the interest rate of 18%, this might trap you into debts.

Finally, hope that all the users can understand the pros and cons of credit card and think twice before sweeping your card.

A review on a post on e-tailing from My E-Commerce blog.

I believed most of you have used the Touch & Go card to pay the toll fee and public transportation. But, have you ever try to buy fast-food through your Touch & Go card?

Touch & Go card, as one of the most popular pre-load cash card in Malaysia, is now expanding their applications and services towards some fast-food industry. However, what a pity is that this new service provided is not applying to whole Malaysia, but restricted to some particular outlets only.

As the world economic is becoming worse and might be followed by a recession, it would be more safe for us to bring a card to go out rather than a huge amount of cash. Once your card is running out of credits, you may top-up it at anywhere in the Malaysia. Unlike credit card, you would have no worries about how if you over spent the money. Therefore, you are able to control your spending according to your financial ability. Besides that, with using of this card, you can buy things more efficiency. You can just pay your bill with a card, instead of pick up your wallet and take the bank notes and waiting for change.

Lastly, hope that there will be more similar services being provided to Malaysian.

References:

http://ecommerze.blogspot.com/2008/04/using-touch-n-go-card-to-buy-fast-food.html

The application of pre-paid cash card for consumer

What is prepaid card? Pre-paid cash card about the same as Debit Card. The prepaid card is far from a new idea. How many of us have used a prepaid gift card or a prepaid mobile phone SIM card? The concept is basically the same. A prepaid card looks like a credit or debit card, and gives users the ability to purchase products and services with a card but with a crucial difference - you can only spend the balance that has been preloaded onto the card. This means there is no risk of running into debt as it has no credit or overdraft facility. How do they work? Money can be loaded on to a prepaid card by cash at a bank, Post Office, at Payzone or PayPoint terminals, bank transfer, through ATM machine or even by another credit card. When using for purchasing at a store, they work in exactly the same way as a credit or debit card - you simply hand the card to the cashier. You will be asked to enter your PIN number (supplied with the card) on an electronic keypad or to sign a payment slip so your signature can be matched with that on the back of the card (if there is no Chip on the card). The total amount will be taken from your card immediately and the transaction is complete.

To shop online, you'll find the item you want to buy and click on to the website's "checkout" page before filling in your details and those of your prepaid card. As long as you have enough cash loaded on your card (the website checks this by the usual means of an authorisation), the purchase is completed and your item will be shipped to you.

What are the benefits of using the pre-paid card? There are numerous benefits to the prepaid card. These include:

• Availability - There are no credit checks, which means you can get a card without worrying about your credit history. All prepaid card providers will carry out an Identity check to confirm you are who you say you are.
• Control - prepaid cards are an ideal way to budget for yourself or help to manage your children's spending. Like a credit card you get a full breakdown of spending on the card so you can see what has been purchased, who from and when.
• No debt risk - With a prepaid card there is no chance of spending too much as you are limited to the amount you put on your card.
• The card for travel - As well as being able to top up the card, depending on the specific provider, you will be able to use it at ATMs worldwide. Many providers now offer dollar and euro cards and offer a better exchange rate on their travel cards than what is commonly available from bureau de change.

references: http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/ http://www.moneyextra.com/cards/prepaid-cards/index.php

Mobile payment system in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers' adoption strategies by katrina

What is mobile payment? Mobile payment defined as the process of two parties exchanging financial value using a mobile device in return of goods and services. The purpose of using mobile device is as a wireless communication device, including mobile phones, PDAs, wireless tablets and mobile computers. Like SMS is viewed as the preferred channel for mobile money exchanges. For example, if a restaurant patron wanted to pay quickly and leave the restaurant on time to get to an appointment, the bill could be paid directly from the table without waiting for a server to bring the check. the patron would simply connect to the cash register with a wireless device, punch in the table number and bank personal identification number (PIN) and authorize payment. Its potentials and consumers' adoption strategies:-

• providing a new wave of financial convenience to the customers
• offering the customers the ease of carrying out the transaction via mobile device
• bringing value the customers by providing them with a secure and convenience way of making transaction.