The application of pre-paid cash card for consumers

The prepaid card is far from a new idea. The concept is basically the same as a prepaid gift card or a mobile phone SIM card. A prepaid cash 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 which means a person 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.

Prepaid cash cards are plastic cards, which fall under the pay first category of plastic payments. Prepaid cash cards can be used to make payment for goods and services and even to withdraw money. Before use, the user needs to load the card with a sum of money. Prepaid cash cards are designed to be used as a safer alternative as compare to cash.

Here are some of the general applications with prepaid cash cards
~Bills payment – Rent, utilities, insurance, car payment, and cell phone bills.

~Shop anywhere as long as the card using is accepted at different retailers, buys fuel at the pump, pay by phone, and shop on the Internet.

~Money withdrawal from ATM at ease

~Transfer money – certain prepaid cash card provide for this function of money transfer between 2 different cards.



Other than as mentioned above, prepaid cash cards can be used as a replacement for travellers’ cash. Customers buy prepaid debit cards denominated in the currency of destination, and then use them to withdraw cash at ATMs or pay for goods or services. It is indeed a great way to carry prepaid cash card, carry prepaid cash card as we travel is much safer and more secure than carrying around large amounts of cash.

The best thing is, consumers don’t have to worry about extra charges over their card without their knowing. Because the pre-loaded sum of money is the maximum amount that can be charged to the card.

Credit Card debts: Causes and Prevention

Credit card can be considered as plastic money which replaces the hazards of cash in making payments and purchasing transactions. Having this advantage, credit cards are now being misused by the consumers, and even causing bankruptcies.
Unfortunately, a lots of people misuse the credit cards by buying costly foods and grocery purchasing habits. This is where credit card arises where debt accumulates via interest and penalties. There are many reasons that cause credit card debts.

Causes:

1. Poor money management
People also always do not know where their money is spending or keep on spending without plan or budget. They usually spent on unnecessary things and when there is a need of purchasing a required commodity people may short of cash and use a credit card frequently ending up in debt. That may cause the increasing of credit card debt.

2. Free application

Nowadays, credit card no longer holds by the rich or higher income status. The most attractive are free for application and excluded any annual fees and even free for life. It causes more people now are able to hold a credit card, such as students, operators or fresh graduates.

3. Gambling

Many people put not only their own disposable income on the line when gambling, they also borrow loans to gamble. How many come back home with a bag full of cash, very few. The guarantee in this game of chance is that will be definitely paying to the house. Gambling loans are also available which lead to debt. This addictive and very hard to stop game can take away everything people owe.

4. Unemployment
Households are forced to use credit card for groceries, utilities and some expenses purposes to maintain current lifestyle when the main breadwinner of the household has loss his job and could not find a new job during short periods. This may lead to a rise in debt when expenses are not cut down in line with the reduction in income.

Ways to Prevent:

1. For the card holders who always loss of financial control after using credit card, they should get a related education or concept regarding financial control and wisely plan their monthly budgets for expenses. Alternatively, they can also seek for financial consultation to solve their credit card debts problem.

2. As a smart consumer, we should consider twice before applying for a credit card. Is that a need to apply or just blindly follow the trend? Especially those fresh graduates, they should weight their ability for repaying debts on a credit card.

3. The solution is only advise people don’t go to gambling or develop themselves in the health hobbies.

4. The prevention in to decrease the expenses and down the road increase the income by extra hours work or a better job. Adopt debt consolidation, counseling, debt management, debt settlement or any other method and limit the use of credit cards to emergencies only if they actually want to live a debt free life.

Electronic Currency

Electronic currency is also known as e-money, electronic cash, digital money, digital cash or digital currency which refer to money or scrip that is exchanged only electronically.

Typically, this involves the use of computer networks, internet and digital stored value systems. It may only exist in the cyber world, but that is nothing new about it. Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) and direct deposit are examples of electronic currency. EFT refers to the computer-based systems used to perform financial transactions electronically while direct deposit is a banking term used to refer to certain systems used to transfer money.

Electronic currency allows its holder to buy the goods and services that the vastness of the internet offers. An e-currency system may be fully backed by gold (like e-gold and c-gold), non-gold backed, or both gold and non-gold baked (like e-Bullion and Liberty Reserve).

Electronic currency trading can let you to do business and earn only few dollars of investment. In fact, some of the experts will suggest the beginners to start with only a few dollars so that they can first learn the ropes of electronic currency. Besides that, electronic currency trading has a low transaction cost. Unlike other businesses that will eat up your profit with a huge amount of fees, it allows you to do business with minimal fees and give you more profit and money. There are few websites examples that can let people to do e-currency tradings such as MG E-currency, JT GOLD.com.

Related links:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_cash

2. http://www.romow.com/business-blog/benefits-of-e-currency-trading/

Evolution Of E-Commerce

Mobile Payment System in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers' adoption strategies

What is Mobile Payment System?

Mobile payment system (MPS) is a point-of-sale payment made through a mobile device, such as a cellular telephone, a smartphone, or a personal digital assistant (PDA). Using MPS, a person with a wireless device could pay for items in a store or settle a restaurant bill without interacting with any staff member.

Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd is an example of mobile payment system in Malaysia. Mobile Money (MM) payment system complies with the regulator's stringent requirements. MM Mobile Payment platform allows everyone to pay anyone, at anytime from anywhere with just one SMS. It also allows one to receive money from anyone, from anywhere, at anytime. MM Mobile Payment system is very secure and it is a closed loop payment system. The charter of Mobile Money is to provide Merchants and consumers with a convenient and secure Mobile Payment and Mobile Commerce platform.

Its potential and the consumer’s adopt strategies are as follow: The cost of a payment transaction has an effect on consumer adoption of mobile payment system. As an online shopper is attentive to the price of transaction costs of mobile payments should be low enough to make the total cost of the purchase competitive with physical world prices.

Payment systems security is one of the main barriers to electronic and mobile commerce transactions. The key requirements for secure financial transactions in electronic environment include confidentiality, data integrity. Other security factors important for consumer adoption are anonymity and privacy, which relate to use policies of customers’ personal information and purchase records.