Tag Archives: Banking

Author : Gregory Smyth

Offshore banking has been through some huge changes in perception over the past few decades It has gone from a practice that was unheard of outside of spy movies and considered nothing more than a money-laundering technique, to proper understanding of offshore banking’s benefits by the general public, to the recent debacle over sharing of information with the US by Swiss banks

However, legitimate companies continue to recognize it as a way to maintain privacy and preserve profits We look at the recommendations of business consultancy managers on bank choices for corporate offshore banking, as well as some broad jurisdiction advice

For legitimate companies looking to bank offshore, the most important factors in bank choice will be stability, range of services, accessibility, customer care, privacy and fee structure

Foremost among these, though, is the stability of the jurisdiction you will be opening a bank account in The financial crisis has taught us nothing if not that banks, once considered infallible business bastions, can also have feet of clay However, the pitfalls of individual banks can be avoided by ensuring that you choose a jurisdiction with good regulation of financial institution solvency

Business consultancy managers can advise on the best one for your situation, but in many cases, it is the well-established and well-known centers that offer the best choice Look for banks with more than one branch, and possibly in more than one country Ask the sales representative, or do your own research, on how long they have been in business

Where do they sit on the size continuum for their jurisdiction? And what size and reputation is their network of correspondents like? European centers, such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Austria usually offer the most stable corporate offshore banking options

However, one drawback to large banks is that as they become more automated, to preserve efficiency and their own profits, customer care sometimes suffers While this may not matter to your choice of local bank, the tighter restrictions and greater volume of red tape for offshore bank account opening and operation can mean that customer care is the critical factor in your banking experience

In this area, it is possible to find excellent service options outside of the large centers, with up and coming companies or jurisdictions that are looking to impress, and not too large to care about individual customers You will also want a bank where most staff speak your language fluently Banks in Belize, Singapore, Hong Kong and some European jurisdictions usually have sound English skills, owing to colonization in the past They also usually have Western expectations of customer care in mind

Privacy is often one of the main reasons that business consultancy managers advise clients to move their banking operations offshore Look for a bank that has a published or written privacy policy with regard to client information, and where the client account managers are not shy to explain the institutions’ policy with regard to secrecy and confidentiality of banking information

Zetland Fiduciary Group provides the offshore investor with investment management,corporate advisory services and Financial consultancy in Hong Kong.

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Author : Mike Selvon

Identity theft prevention has become more important than ever, with the whole world connecting through the internet like never before The new convenience of online transactions taking place in the blink of an eye has lured people away from bank lineups to check their accounts or pay their bills Before you log-on to pay your bills, you should consider a few things about identity theft prevention

It becomes important for consumers to know the principles of identity fraud prevention, since the concept is tied so closely with theft prevention The two ideas really go hand in hand

So the question becomes: How much personal information can the average person find about him or herself online that can be damaging if it fell into the wrong hands?

When considering theft prevention and the personal information readily available via the internet, it may surprise some people to know that even the most essential statistics quickly arrive at a criminal’s fingertips

For example, sites like Anybirday give out, you guessed it, anyone’s birthday A birth date is a critical piece of information for people concerned with identity fraud prevention, since most thieves are looking for just this type of personal information to commit identity theft

Other websites should be of concern for those trying to optimize identity theft prevention measures Record search sites like Completed Detective and Find Someone can locate previous and current addresses with only a person’s first and last name Criminal and civil court records are available through public databases

Of course, the biggest possibility for identity theft comes from online accounts While the Internet Age has made it easier for us to do our banking and pay our bills, any online account has the potential to be compromised These include:

* Bank Accounts

* Services like PayPal

* Accounts for your bill paying services

* Individual accounts with online merchants

A poor practice of identity theft prevention is online accounts protected by a simple password or PIN (personal identification number), like your birthday or your mother’s maiden name

Many people are inundated with passwords and stick to simple ones they can remember That’s a huge advantage for an identity thief A good password should have a random numbers, letters, and special characters like an exclamation point

Guard your passwords, personal identification number (PIN), and anything that could be used as an answer to a security question, like your mother’s maiden name Even the most trusted person you know could unknowingly let your private passwords slip

The internet can be convenient and fast, but it is also a haven for possible information compromise These simple suggestions are the first steps towards identity theft prevention and there are many more suggestions out there, all you have to do is take the time to protect yourself

Get all the information you need on identity theft prevention from Mike Selvon’s identity theft portal, and leave a comment at his identity theft blog.

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Author : Peter Kenny

Choosing the right bank account can be difficult, with so many seemingly similar options available to you it can just seem easier to pick the first account you come across Although many accounts do have similarities, if you don’t shop around then you won’t get the best deal for your needs If you want to find the best bank account for your needs then follow these simple steps:

Number of accounts

Many people have a few current accounts as well as one or two savings accounts, which they are not getting the best out of If you pick the right accounts then you will only need one current account and one savings account for your personal use If you have a large number of accounts, then now is the time to think about replacing them with one or two accounts that better serve your needs

Don’t be lazy

The first step to finding the right bank account for your needs is to start being active and looking for a new account Banks rely on the fact that you are too lazy to check your fees to see if they are worth your while It is likely that you pay fees and rates each month that are more than you need to pay, or are for services that you don’t need If you are proactive then you are more likely to get a good deal

Features

Once you have decided that your current bank account is not fully serving your needs, then you need to look at what features are most important to you Are you someone who transfers a lot of money electronically, or do you write cheques to pay for things? Some accounts will have better rates for each of these features, so you need to decide what you are going to use the account for

Online banking

One aspect that you need to look at when choosing an account is online banking If you only need basic checking and savings services, then having online banking might not be worth it However, if you need to access your money quickly and be able to transfer between accounts or pay bills instantly, then you should get an account that has online banking features

Current and savings accounts

There are many account variations available for both current accounts and savings accounts, and it is even possible to get combined current and savings accounts The type of account you need depends on the features you need and the amount of money you will be paying in and out of your account If you have a large amount of savings, then you want a savings account with the best interest rate to take advantage of this Also, if you have relatively little money in your current account then you shouldn’t opt for an account that requires a minimum amount be paid into the account each month

Where to look

Now that you know what sort of account you want, you need to find the right institution to suit your needs Although traditional banks should be your first port of call, you should also look at credit unions and online banks to find the best bank account for your needs

Peter Kenny is a writer for The Thrifty Scot.
Please visit us at Bank Accounts and Current Accounts

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Author : Peter Kenny

Credit cards are an almost essential part of many people’s lives, because they allow you to increase your cash flow and have more financial freedom However, if you use credit cards too much or in the wrong way you can be stung with large credit card fees and penalties Avoiding these fees will help you to cut the costs of using a credit card and get the most out of its benefits If you want to know how to avoid these credit card fees then this article can help you do just that

Grace periods

A grace period is the time you have to pay off your credit card debt before you start paying interest Although many cards used to have good grace periods, these are reducing and some have none at all This means you will start accruing interest from the moment that you make a purchase If your card does have a grace period, then the best way to avoid extra interest charges is to pay off the balance in full before the end of each grace period This will mean you can use your credit card without having to pay interest

Late fees

One of the most expensive fees you might have to pay is for late payment Although you might not think this will apply to you, it is very easy to be a day or two late with payment, especially if you have a lot of cards and bills Late payment fees can be as much as 35, and if you are near the end of your credit limit could trigger other penalties such as over limit fees Before you know what has happened you might owe 100 in fees, which is basically money wasted To avoid these late fees, try and pay your bill by direct debit if possible, or use online banking to speed up the process of paying your bill This will ensure that your money arrives on time If you think you are going to be late with payment, try calling your credit card company to inform them If they know it will be late they might be able to waive the penalty fee, especially if you usually pay on time

Annual fees

Another fee that can cost you money is the credit card annual fee Although this fee used to be commonplace, less and less cards are now charging an annual fee Unless you have a gold or platinum card, then you really shouldn’t have to pay an annual fee Although there will be some issuers charging annual fees, unless the benefits you get for the fee are significantly more than the fee you should find another card

More than just the fees

Perhaps the biggest problem with some of these penalty fees is that if you have to pay them, it can mean more money lost for you than simply the penalty fee For example, if you are late with payment a few times, the card issuer may remove your low interest rate This could end up costing you a lot of money, especially if you have a large balance on your card In order to avoid these fees, make sure you carry out your payment obligations, and also read the contract in full before signing for the card That way you will know what the fees are in case the worst should happen

Peter Kenny is a writer for creditcards-gb.co.uk Please visit us at 0% Credit Cards and 0% balance transfers

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Author : Gregory Smyth

One of the best places for your money in business is firmly in the hands of an investment management service – you may as well make it work for you, instead of just sitting around

Most small to medium size enterprises have come up with this already – and even more if them are now looking at ethical investment management services, as opposed to a traditional choice of funds based on risk We look at how the trend is developing, as well as the positive and negative aspects of ethical investment

Ethical investment is generally accepted to mean investing in a fund that follows the UN’s Guidelines for Responsible Investment, or a firm that does In the Guidelines, ESG stands for environmental, social and corporate governance

These are:

1 We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes

2 We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices

3 We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest

4 We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry

5 We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles

6 We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles

Ethical investment was one of the big buzzwords of the business consultancy management and the offshore investment biz worlds a couple of years ago However, overly cautious fund managers with an ethical bent may have actually done the industry a disservice, by constantly restating that investors must be trained to accept lower investments

However, this does not always have to be the case Many offshore banking investment managers and investment management services believe that ethical investing is actually neutral when compared to regular investing, which does not consider ethical issues However, one of the main issues for businesses wanting to invest ethically is that ethical funds often charge higher fees, up to 0 1% more

Rio Tinto is one company to have felt the painful effects of media and public displeasure with their corporate ethics It was said to have caused major environmental damage at its Grasberg mine in West Papua, and the public displeasure has caused Rio Tinto to be changing its policies quite rapidly

And the trend is definitely growing

Business consultancy managers over the world are recommending that their clients join the 50 institutional investors, with around $4 trillion of assets invested ethically

These companies have subscribed to the UN’s principles in the six months since the launch of the guidelines, in April 2008 Some of the big names include the California and New York Public Employees Retirement Systems, Dutch Bank ABN AMro and France’s BNP Paribas Asset Management

However, the biggest gain for businesses from ethical investing is not a better public image, not the feelgood factor of ethical investing, and not the returns, which are much the same whether their money goes to an ethical company or not-necessarily ethical one It is the fact that the world will still be there, helping the company to be profitable, for many years to come

The Zetland Financial Group provides the offshore investor with fiduciary Services, investment management and corporate advisory services, offering personal service and professional advice with total confidentiality.

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