Author : Jane DawsonYour merchant account is one of the most important relationships in your ecommerce business Why? First, the credit card processor touches every customer and that experience can create a return customer or lose a good prospect forever

That means you need to select a vendor with a great customer service track record Second, the credit card processor is in charge of your cash and collections Any fraud or problems that result in a chargeback directly affect your bottom line Use these strategies to manage your vendor and minimize risk of losses

Protect against fraud in transactions

While e-commerce merchants will lose a record $4 billion to fraud in 2008, growing revenues mean the loss rate will hold steady at 1 4% of sales in 2009, level with 2007 and 2006, according to CyberSources annual online fraud survey How do you protect yourself?

There are two types of fraud controls, known as intrinsic and extrinsic

- Intrinsic controls are typically supplied by your credit card processing company They include: Address Verification Service (AVS) and the Credit Card Security Code (CVV2, CVC, CID, etc ), as well as PIN based solutions like Verified by Visa and SecureCode by MasterCard

- Extrinsic controls are typically the province of cyber security companies that use systems such as risk scoring to detect possible abuses

Chargeback rates are often a good indicator of the prevalence of fraud in your customer base

Some chargebacks are inevitable and a rate between 0 and 0 4% is usually considered the cost of doing business Once the chargeback rate reaches 0 7%, there is strong suspicion of fraudulent behavior in play and/or poor product/processing A chargeback rate of over 0 7% is a major red flag Visa and MasterCard have imposed rules limiting a merchants percentage of allowed chargebacks to 1% When a merchant exceeds this threshold, they begin receiving fines If the problem continues, the fines increase and the merchant can lose the right to process credit cards

Keep an eye on chargebacks

Chargebacks represent a transaction gone bad A transaction ends up in a chargeback situation when there has been an incidence of fraud or the customer service situation was substandard Online merchants may have a tougher time with fraud in 2009

High chargebacks not only raise the question of fraud but also raise the issue of misrepresenting products Monitor the reason for chargebacks and if the issue is product dissatisfaction, you need to take a hard look at why your customers feel moved to return the product you sold them If you need more help in this area, there are two primary chargeback specialists who can help Vindicia and Verifi can give you the advice you need to maintain your standing with your credit card processor as well as safeguarding your bottom line

Make sure you have adequate management reports on transactions

Your vendor needs to supply you with real time, web-based management reporting You should be able to easily determine:

- Volume of authorization successes
- Volume of authorization failures (with reason codes)
- Refunds
- Chargebacks
- Fees from everyone involved in the transaction chain
- Merchant submissions
- Bank deposit reconciliations

Managing your transactions means managing revenue and that is a primary duty eSources is the Internet’s largest wholesale directory of verified wholesalers, distributors, dropshippers, manufacturers and importers. Browse by country: Wholesale Canada, USA Wholesale & American Wholesalers, Italy Wholesale & Italian wholesalers.

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Author : Art GibPerhaps you’ve always wanted to remodel that old kitchen but never had the cash to do it Perhaps you need funds to finance your daughter’s college education but you’re not sure where to find them The answer may be to tap into your home’s equity either through a home equity loan or equity line of credit Here’s how to know which to choose

First of all, obtaining any kind of loan against your house should never be taken lightly The equity that you have invested in your house isn’t truly yours until you have paid off your mortgage, and by borrowing this money you must know that it still must be repaid because you are borrowing from your lender

It may be tempting to use funds from your home’s equity to finance a vacation or buy a boat, but these are frivolous uses of your precious equity Any loans against your home’s equity are better used for important things: save your money separately for that vacation to Tahiti

What is a home equity loan and what should it be used for?

A home equity loan is set up in monthly installments, much like your mortgage is You are given a specific sum of money all at once to use as you will, then make regular payments plus interest on that loan until it is paid back The interest rates and payment schedule for home equity loans are generally fixed and the funds are repaid over a predetermined length of time

A home equity loan is best used for a project where the homeowner has a measurable means of accounting for how much the cost will be For example, if you have already had a professional contractor come in and give you a bid on that new kitchen remodel, you may know that you will have to borrow at least $11,678 based on the contractor’s estimate You may wish to borrow $13,000 to account for any unforeseen expenses You may then repay that amount over a period of, say, five years

If you need to fund your daughter’s college education, you will already have a pretty good idea of how much that will cost based on where she has been accepted Both a home improvement project and a child’s education are wise uses of a home equity loan

What is a home equity line of credit and what should it be used for?

A home equity line of credit is basically another credit card (without the card) and you can borrow up to a certain limit against your home’s equity Unlike a home loan, a line of credit is open-ended in terms of time: as long as you keep paying it down, you can keep borrowing The payments on an equity line are not necessarily set on a fixed schedule, and the interest rates are variable and tied to the prime rate

Because of the variable rate, it is best to use the home equity line sparingly: it is ideal for use in case of home emergencies (having to replace a faulty furnace, for example) or to cover an unexpected bill or other unforeseen expense If you are a New England resident interested in learning more about home equity loans and equity lines of credit, contact the professionals in ma banking: Workers Credit Union (http://www.wcu.com). Art Gib is a freelance writer.

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Author : Ki GrayFollowing the release of the government’s plan to buy toxic debt from banks mortgage rates fell to new all time lows The 30 year rate fell from 4 98 to 4 85 this week This is 11 points below the previous all time low of 4 96 that was reached on January 15, 2009 Below are the 7 lowest rates on record for the last 40 years

1) March 2009 4 85
2) January 2009 4 96
3) February 2009 5 07
4) December 2008 5 19
5) June 2003 5 23
6) March 2004 5 45
7) May 2003 5 48

Looking through the rates we can see we saw some low rates in 2003 and 2004 The last 4 months have been the lowest 4 months on record Also it’s worth noting that since the start of March 30 year rates have dropped by 3 points Below are the mortgage rates for the major mortgage products for the last few weeks

Mar 26, 2009
30-yr 4 85 15-yr 4 58 5-yr ARM 4 96 1-yr ARM 4 85

Mar 19, 2009
30-yr 4 98 15-yr 4 61 5-yr ARM 4 98 1-yr ARM 4 91

Mar 12, 2009
30-yr 5 03 15-yr 4 64 5-yr ARM 4 99 1-yr ARM 4 80

Mar 05, 2009
30-yr 5 15 15-yr 4 72 5-yr ARM 5 08 1-yr ARM 4 86

Feb 26, 2009
30-yr 5 07 15-yr 4 68 5-yr ARM 5 06 1-yr ARM 4 81

While the 30 year dropped 13 points this week the 15 year mortgage only dropped 03 points The difference between the 30 year rate and the 15 year rate is the lowest it has been in the last few months making it not that appealing The 5 and 1 year arm’s dropped a little this week as well But since both of them are at or above the current rate for the 30 year mortgage they are pretty pointless I have seen them used in a few cases where the 30 year rates is not available (some condo complexes) but their is no reason to consider them if the 30 year product is available

We also wanted to look at mortgage payments to see the effects of the new lowered rates We took today’s rates and determined the payment on a 200k mortgage We also looked at rates from last week and rates from October 16, 2008 when 30 year rates were 6 46

Mar 26
30-yr 1055 38
15-yr 1538 17
5-yr ARM 1068 75
1-yr ARM 1055 38

Mar 19
30-yr 1071 19
15-yr 1541 25
5-yr ARM 1071 19
1-yr ARM 1062 66

Oct 16
30-yr $1258 87
15-yr $1702 87
5-yr ARM $1217 16
1-yr ARM $1093 28

If we compare rates today to rates from a few months ago we can see a substantial difference For a 200k loan the payment would be $203 49 less per month or a little over 16 percent less

Ok so what is our advice for people looking for a home or refinancing First of all I would lock in rates now I don’t necessarily think rates are about to go up next week But at the same time there is certainly more of a risk rates will go up substantially than rates will go down much more Quite frankly there is just not that much room to fall

So what is going to happen over the next few weeks and the next year? I am not sure what is going to happen over the next few weeks I would guess that rates would hover around their current levels for a little while to come Over the next year or two I expect rates to go above 10 percent The government has poured a significant amount of money into the economy and at some point that is going to cause a significant increase in inflation Ki writes regularly about mortgage rates. His site has statistics on Austin Tx real estate along with providing a free mortgage calculator.

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Author : Hilal SaburFirst of all, what is money? Money is nothing more than a medium used to exchange for goods and services

Initially, it was an actual receipt for an amount of gold that people stored with the towns goldsmith Money is also called fiat, which in the Blacks Law dictionary 5th Edition is defined as: Paper currency not backed by gold or silver (which is in direct contravention of the U S constitution)

Nowadays, money is becoming digital, a mere number on a computer screen that is printed on a receipt and can be monitored and transferred on a thin, pocket-sized piece of plastic Now that we know what money is, lets talk about its origination

The actual receipt or note for the amount of gold stored with the goldsmith was worthless, what gave it any value was the actual gold it represented However, these notes or receipts had much more mobility than sacks of gold, so people started to view them as valuable

The goldsmith started to notice the pattern that people were not withdrawing their gold very often, if at all, after storing it with him So he decided to loan gold via receipts, to other townsmen, assuming that they were not going to come withdraw their actual gold deposit anytime soon He would charge an interest fee on these loans that were all profit to him, with no regards to the persons whose gold it actually belonged to

When these loan were repaid, he ended up profiting an actual amount of gold with an added interest amount, entirely based around the created value of piece of paper representing someone elses gold This fraud created the base principle that every bank in the world to date is built upon

Banks today are actually built upon creating debt with a currency that is created directly on a computer screen There is nothing that backs these notes anymore, only the mere thought of gold We the people have created value in cash, and there is plenty of it out there

However, if everyone decided one day to withdraw all of there cash, like our once gold, from the banks, or the once goldsmith, the banks would fall hard because the majority would not be compensated for their own, hard earned currency

Why do you think that there has been talk about the government turning money completely digital and completely eliminating cash all together, forcing people into using checks, credit and debit cards as the only source of currency? There are already companies like paypal and alertpay who have profited off of this knowledge

The ironic part is that even though the banks have the power to create money out of thin air, they need people to request these creations They need people to request mortgage loans and car loans, so they can profit off of the interest and the eventually paid loan If someone is not able to repay their loans, they confiscate their properties and turn them into profit

The majority of the real estate across our nation is owned by a bank The fraudulent principle that created banks, has given banks the power and ownership of almost everything you see in your day to day life

Check out these quotes:

Let me issue, and control a nations finances, and I care not which puppet sits on the throne [Mayor Amchel Rothchild (1743-1812)];

It is well enough that the people of this nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning [Henry Ford];

The depression was the calculated ’shearing’ of the public by the World Money powers, triggered by the planned sudden shortage of supply of call money in the New York money market The One World Government leaders and their ever close bankers have now acquired full control of the money and credit machinery of the U S via the creation of the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank [Curtis Dall, FDR’s son-in-law as quoted in his book, “My Exploited Father-in-Law”]

I am merely scratching the surface of this monstrous mountain made of money, but what can we do about this? Well, first of all, we have to help each other instead of borrowing from the bank for every dollar needed If we looked towards each other instead of the banks, the banks only purpose would be for keeping our money safe and insured (which is their actual original purpose)

Work at home programs is the best solutions to this problem The majority of them do not require a large lump sum of money to get started, and your income has potential to be unlimited Of course taxes may come into play, depending on how big your company grows, but this works better than paying taxes on top of owing money to begin with

However, what I have found to work exceptionally well, and is completely tax free is cash gifting Since cash is the bottom line of all business, and people have created so much of it due to the cycle of financing created debt with the banks, why not circulate it through the hands of the people and rid the middleman banker?

If more and more people got involved in cash gifting, the only job for the banks would be to do what they were meant to do in the first place, instead of profiting from a debt and interest created by someone in need We the people have to take back our power and break the bankers hold on us, ourselves If not, debt will enslave us forever

I hope you have found this article to be resourceful and/or informative to you in some way Lets start rebuilding our economy ourselves Best wishes to you in all of your ventures!Hilal Sabur is a seasoned internet marketer and has been very successful in cash gifting. He is giving you an invitation to join him in The Peoples Program.
I urge you to sign up here to receive free tips and guidance in marketing your programs.

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Author : Ramapati SinghaniaAn offshore bank is generally in a low tax jurisdiction (or a tax haven) that provides financial and legal advantages These advantages typically include:

* greater privacy (see also bank secrecy, a principle born with the 1934 Swiss Banking Act)

* less restrictive legal regulation

* low or no taxation (i e tax havens)

* easy access to deposits (at least in terms of regulation)

* protection against local political or financial instability

While the term originates from the Channel Islands “offshore” from Britain, and most of them are located in island nations to this day, the term is used figuratively to refer to such banks regardless of location e g Switzerland, Luxembourg and Andorra in particular are landlocked

Offshore banking has often been accused of helping the underground economy and organized crime, via tax evasion and money laundering; however, legally, offshore banking does not prevent assets from being subject to personal income tax on interest Except for certain persons who meet fairly complex requirements, the personal income tax of many countries makes no distinction between interest earned in local banks and those earned abroad Persons subject to US income tax, for example, are required to declare on penalty of perjury, any offshore bank accounts which they may have

Following September 11, 2001, there have been many calls for more regulation on international finance, in particular concerning tax havens and their banks, and clearing houses Defenders of offshore banking have criticized these attempts at regulation They claim the process is prompted, not by security and financial concerns, but by the desire of domestic banks and tax agencies to access the money held in offshore accounts

They cite the fact that offshore banking offers a competitive threat to the banking and taxation systems in developed countries, suggesting that Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are trying to stamp out competition

Advantages of offshore banking

* Such entities provide access to politically and economically stable jurisdictions This may be an advantage for those resident in areas where there is a risk of political turmoil who fear their assets may be frozen, seized or disappear However, developed countries with regulated banking systems offer the same advantages in terms of stability but not of taxation

* Some of them may operate with a lower cost base and can provide higher interest rates than the legal rate in the home country due to lower overheads and a lack of government intervention Advocates of offshore banking often rightly characterize government regulation as a form of tax on domestic banks, reducing interest rates on deposits

* Offshore finance is one of the few industries, along with tourism, in which geographically remote island nations can competitively engage It helps developing countries source investment and create growth in their economies, and can help redistribute world finance from the developed to the developing world

* Interest is generally paid by them without tax deducted This is an advantage to individuals who do not pay tax on worldwide income, or who do not pay tax until the tax return is agreed, or who feel that they can illegally evade tax by hiding the interest income

* Some offer banking services that may not be available from domestic banks such as anonymous bank accounts, higher or lower rate loans based on risk and investment opportunities not available elsewhere

* Offshore banking is often linked to other structures, such as offshore companies, trusts or foundations, which may have specific tax advantages for some individuals

* Many advocates of offshore banking also assert that the creation of tax and banking competition is an advantage of the industry, arguing that tax competition allows people to choose an appropriate balance of services and taxes

Critics of the industry, however, claim this competition as a disadvantage, arguing that it encourages a “race to the bottom” in which governments in developed countries are pressured to deregulate their own banking systems in an attempt to prevent the offshoring of capital

Disadvantages of offshore banking

* Offshore banking has been associated in the past with the underground economy and organized crime, through money laundering

* Following September 11, 2001, tax havens and their banks, along with clearing houses, have been accused of helping various organized crime gangs, terrorist groups, and other state or non-state actors However, offshore banking is a legitimate financial exercise undertaken by many expatriate and international workers

* Offshore jurisdictions are often remote, so physical access and access to information can be difficult Yet in a world with global telecommunications this is rarely a problem for customers Accounts can be set up online, by phone or by mail

* Offshore private banking is usually more beneficial to those on higher incomes, because of the costs of establishing and maintaining offshore accounts However, simple savings accounts can be opened by anyone and maintained with scale fees equivalent to their onshore counterparts The tax burden in developed countries thus falls disproportionately on middle-income groups Historically, tax cuts have tended to result in a higher proportion of the tax take being paid by high-income groups, as previously sheltered income is brought back into the mainstream economy

Banking services

It is possible to obtain the full spectrum of financial services from these banks, including:

* deposit taking

* credit

* wire and electronic funds transfers

* foreign exchange

* letters of credit and trade finance

* investment management and investment

Custody

* fund management

* trustee services

* corporate administration

Not every bank provides each service Banks tend to specialize between retail services and private banking services Retail services tend to be low cost and undifferentiated, whereas private banking services tend to bring a personalized suite of services to the client Ramapati Singhania specializes in creating and managing web businesses. His latest website http://www.incorporation-offshore-saves-wealth.com focuses on helping you to incorporate offshore companies in Seychelles, Mauritius and BVI. You can also visit his blog, http://www.ramapatisinghania.com

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Author : Ramapati SinghaniaHowever it is worth remembering that more than half the world’s wealth is held via offshore companies, if not necessarily in offshore banks! Offshore accounts are simply accounts held in banks located in tax havens such as Seychelles, Mauritius, British Virgin Islands or Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah [RAK] in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] or others

Banking regulations are simpler and flexible allowing more products and lower costs of offering them so you end up with a choice of products not necessarily available to you in your own country Your money in the offshore account also is not taxed, so it grows faster than if was in your own country

Investments offered in the money market segment of the financial market are some of the most common investments available offshore These have short maturity dates and to find out more about offshore accounts that suit your needs you can consult a financial planner for offshore banking advice

Offshore destinations are tax havens where taxes are low or nil and as such you can grow your savings at a faster compounded rate You can invest funds via a company incorporated in an offshore tax haven by your self or with a group of investors, of even into a mutual fund that is registered in a tax haven - which will offer greater tax free returns

You can even start an offshore company and make it your holding company to invest into your operating companies in other countries For offshore bank accounts Switzerland happens to be one of the oldest and most preferred countries with its legendary bank privacy laws There are many advantages associated with offshore banking that attracts people

* It offers privacy and stability and helps increase savings

* Individuals who have offshore bank accounts do not access it often; rather they spend money from their accounts in a local bank

* Offshore deposits are kept for future or emergency uses and as such these accumulate considerably over a period of time

* One more advantage of offshore banking is that anyone irrespective of wealth can open an account There may be certain regulations regarding the amount of money required to open an offshore account but contrary to belief it is not a massive sum

Along with the wealthy clients even a small business owner or a middle class individual can have offshore bank accounts In this way one can do business and earn money and also save on profits since the tax system in offshore destinations is investor friendly On the other hand offshore accounts indirectly develop the local economy as the money that comes in speed up economic activities

You not only save tax with account banking offshore but also get many more benefits that strengthen your finances You get asset protection benefits, personal privacy advantages and access to better account structures and services

So why are offshore investments treated as ’shady’ or ‘quasi-legal’? Most tax authorities would like you to tell them about your offshore accounts, and also would like that you pay taxes on those assets to them However, most offshore investors and offshore account holders want to escape the clutches of their local tax departments through tax shelters such as offshore companies, double tax treaties, or through non-disclosure of overseas assets

In many countries it is necessary to inform your relevant tax authorities before placing your assets offshore and if you fail to do so then your investment can be illegal technically So before taking any decision on investments offshore you should take offshore banking advice from qualified financial consultants in your tax jurisdiction Account banking offshore account structures are very flexible and accessible, pay better interest, have lower charges and multiple currency transaction facility

With all these advantages, anyone can be convinced that investing offshore is a wise step to take But there are certain factors that need careful consideration before you make the decision

In the past and today in the traditional tax havens, offshore accounts are expensive with high minimum balances and high transaction costs Even the incorporation service providers charge high fees in these tax havens However, the newer ones, such as Mauritius or Seychelles are quick, less pretentious, and cost around US$ 2000 for company incorporation and bank account opening!Ramapati Singhania specializes in creating and managing web businesses. His latest website http://www.incorporation-offshore-saves-wealth.com focuses on helping you to incorporate offshore companies in Seychelles, Mauritius and BVI. You can also visit his blog, http://www.ramapatisinghania.com

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