Today, emphasis is on the small, rectangular pieces of plastic almost everyone carries in a purse or wallet: credit cards. Carrying cash is considered dangerous and using debit cards equally perilous if they are stolen because it is agonizingly difficult to get reimbursed for funds illegally charged by a thief.
Additionally, you run the risk of disparaging looks from fellow consumers if you dare to slow their whirlwind shopping pace by writing a check! So you sheepishly whip out the plastic. But when you do that, you are playing right into the hands of the credit card companies who absolutely love to extend credit to you and will even lull you into further debt by bombarding you with convenience checks.
By using credit cards for any and every type of purchase, you run the risk of overextending yourself right into a jam. Many financial advisors recommend using the credit cards only for major purchases or something that you would not have enough cash in pocket or funds in your checking to cover. That way, you control your credit card balances and keep a tight rein on your debt to credit ratio. (That is a percentage arrived at by comparing what you owe to the amount of credit you have been granted in unsecured revolving accounts. For instance, if you owe $8,000 and have a high credit limit on all your accounts of $10,000, you have an 80% debt to credit ratio. )
That is a very high ratio and liable to be scrutinized carefully by credit card companies. You are better off to keep the ratio to a lot less than 50%, pay more than the minimum monthly amount and always pay early if you want to maintain a good credit rating.
If you are already in hot water with bad credit and a low FICO score, you can improve your score by adhering to the above advice. Pay down your debts as quickly as you can until you have a lower debt to credit ratio, pay more and pay early. And do not resort to loans from a finance company!
You can also improve your score by obtaining a merchant charge card. This will usually allow you to only purchase merchandise that the merchant is selling, not make charges for any other purpose. But the big advantage is that it will raise your credit limit and give you a much better credit profile and debt to credit ratio without the usual high interest rates and possible annual fees charged by the major companies.
If you are unfortunate enough to have had to file bankruptcy, your options are more limited initially. A general rule of thumb is that lenders will not consider lending you money for a major purchase like a home until your bankruptcy has been discharged for 24 months. But in the meantime, you will have time to repair and rebuild your credit. You can get a secured credit card, which means you will give a bank an amount, anywhere from $200 to $10,000, that you then may charge against up to the limit you have chosen. This will help to reestablish you in the plastic domain.
To repair your credit necessitates getting copies of all of your credit reports, Equifax, Experian and Transunion. You are entitled to free reports once every twelve months. For information on how to get these, refer to the resources box below.
Do not bother with the so called free reports that are widely advertised. There are no free lunches! If you apply to one of those companies, you will have to sign up for their services in order to get the reports,
Once you have the credit reports in hand, the next step to repair your credit means correcting or eliminating misinformation. There are very specific ways to handle this all important part of the process and submitting queries in the wrong way or at the wrong time can complicate your credit recovery. If you would like further information, please visit me at the site listed below.
The fact is that everyone online wants to use a credit card or debit card to process their order. It is very true in our society that the credit card is a way of life, and if you do not offer that ability to accommodate them, customers will move on to another website that does allow them to use their cards. This society has become driven by instant gratification and expects to receive their products immediately, either by a download or a short shipping duration. Taking credit cards as a form of payment on the internet or offline should be thoroughly understood. Read on to see what I mean and how to protect yourself.
The fact is that any merchant taking in payments is immediately at risk for whatever amount is charged and MORE. The banks will take the charge disputed along with a "charge back" fee right from your merchant account, and you better have enough in there that has cleared to pay your own bills or you will be charged more for "overdraft charges". Some banks are waking up to the fact that it is not always the merchant at fault and most merchants are more than honest in their dealings. There is so much credit card fraud out there and since the merchants are ALWAYS liable, you need to realize this and take action to prevent as much disaster for your business as possible.
First, if you have your own merchant account, then you have a lot of work to do when you receive a credit card order. You must verify as best you can that the card, the name on the card, the address, the cvv number verification, and the quantities are all in order. You need to verify the IP address of every order and see if it is within the location of the card holder. A person living in Toronto, Canada, probably would not be in Las Cruces, New Mexico, charging products. This is a red flag but not a deal breaker, some people DO travel. Caution needs to be taken to protect your cash flow. As a merchant you must get money safely into your account for any goods or service you provide, so that you can become a larger or more substantial independent business.
Do not just take in cards and believe that everything is going to be just fine now that you have the money in your account, because it can come out just as fast, or faster, than it went in. There is a real need for you to understand a lot more than can be mentioned in this article.
The best way to receive all the tools and services you need to protect yourself and to make your voice heard is to check this website: http://www.merchant911.org This is a group of dedicated individuals who have been working for years to try to change banking and processing company rules and regulations as relative to merchants, both large and small. If you need any more proof of their dedication, just read some of the press releases and look at the tools they have assembled for merchants to use.
Right now is the time to start to protect yourself from credit card fraud. If you have read any of the newspapers or listened to any of the news reports, then you already know you are at risk. There are reports of over 40 million cards in the hands of criminals and thieves and they will sell these cards or will use them in various illegal methods. It's not hard to imagine that some day soon you will be approached and asked to spend your time and money to ship a product or provide a service with these fraudulent cards.
Do your part to keep America strong and allow your business to grow and prosper, not be destroyed by thieves and credit card sharks.
Both Lynne Albright & Michele Meyer are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lynne Albright has sinced written about articles on various topics from Advertising Guide, Fat Loss and Digital Camera. For lots more information, visit: For your free annual credit reports, go to:. Lynne Albright's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
Michele Meyer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Small Business and Cover Letter. Michele Meyer provides EMF emitting devices for the whole family. You may contact her at bioharmonichealth@gmail.com Or visit her website at www.bioharmonichealth.com. Michele Meyer's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.