Harbor Payments

Online Banking Pros and Cons for College Students

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Online banking provides many advantages for college students on a budget. With on online bank account, you will be able to manage your money responsibility and to eliminate your dependence on credit cards.

Online banking helps you to manage your income effectively. Parents can easily deposit money into your online bank account at the beginning of each semester. Also, if you earn a paycheck from an off-campus job or from work study, then your paycheck can be easily direct deposited into your online checking account.

In addition, you will manage your expenses effectively with online banking. When you need to pay a bill, you can use an online checking account to electronically transfer funds for your bills without the hassle of paper checks. When you do need a paper check, your online bank will generate the check and then mail it to you.

The one disadvantage of online banking is that it takes time to access cash. For instance, transferring money into a local checking account or requesting a paper check may take a couple of days. However, because the transfer of money takes time, you are less likely to spend hard-earned funds on impulse purchases. With online banking, you will have the tools you need for responsible money management.

Teaching Children About Online Banking and Teens

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Most parents know that it’s important to teach children how to manage money responsibly. But sometimes that is easier said than done, especially when kids hit the teen years and have less parental supervision and more social contact with peers. Teenagers often feel they need to spend a lot of money on clothes, music and social activities in order to keep up with their friends. But kids this age need money management skills before they move out on their own and face adulthood. Parents can help by teaching their kids about online banking, even during the teen years.

When teaching teens about online banking, show rather than simply lecture them. Walk them through how to set up and manage an online account, starting off with whatever savings or gift money they have already. Maintain supervision over your teen’s banking activity by limiting what access they’re allowed to have, or show them a sample account but hold off on allowing an actual account until they’re ready to move out on their own or otherwise reach adult status. Emphasize privacy and security, such as the importance of a quality password, and discuss the need to keep passwords secret and change them occasionally.

Safety Tips and Issues for Online Banking

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Online banking is convenient and has become increasingly available over the last five years, with more banks offering a wide range of online services. Today, you can transfer money between accounts, tracking your spending habits and even pay bills directly from your account through a banking website. Online banking websites use layers of security to protect account information, but fraud and theft can still happen.

Phishing scams involve emails or text messages sent to you regarding your bank account. The message is commonly some type of warning about your bank account and ends with a request for account information, such as your PIN number or debit card security number. If you fail to log out or clear cookies when you’re done doing online banking, a person remotely attacking your computer can get information.

You can take steps to secure your account. Use passwords that are difficult to guess and change the passwords regularly. Make sure you sign out of the account and clear your browser’s cookies. If you don’t log out of your account, another person using the computer after you might be able to go right to your account page by simply going to the website. Always have up to date antivirus software installed. Above all, use common sense: if you think something is wrong, contact your bank.

Going ‘E-commerce’: What to Know

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Ever since the World Wide Web made its debut in 1991, millions of companies have set up sites from which to sell their products and services. Some have made a huge profit this way, but others have gone bankrupt after making a few or even billions of dollars. If you are an entrepreneur who is just getting started in the business world and wish to avoid the fates of those other companies, it is crucial to know some important points.

You should be able to state, in a few words, exactly what your business goals are. What do you wish to sell? What demographic are the products or services intended for? Find out about other e- companies that are offering goods and services similar to the one you want to set up.

What will your domain name be? It should be simple and easy to remember; ideally, it should be nothing more than your name or company, plus “dot com.” Register your domain name.

How will you direct traffic to your website? SEO can help with this problem. This system, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, is a way of increasing the chances that your website will turn up as the result of a given search. How many searches were done for that kind of business? If too few, not many people may want what you have to offer; if too many results, you will have too much competition.

Finally, if selling products, how will you ship them? A common method is drop shipping, whereby customers’ orders are routed through a wholesaler or a manufacturer. If you choose to drop ship, which companies will you order from?

The Internet can be a great place to make money. And armed with the right knowledge, you can take advantage of its capabilities.

Teaching Your Parents About Online Banking

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

So, say your parents have just been tipped off to get.wildblue.com and they’ve now got a home internet connection – they probably don’t know much about how to use the web. It’s up to you to teach them about online banking and we’ve got a few tips for things not to forget to bring up…
Safety: Make sure your parents understand what types of scams are common in the online banking world. Assure them the bank will never email and ask for a password or personal information and they shouldn’t ever give out their password. Simple things to you, but not for them.
Recurring Payments: Get your folks set up so some of their recurring bills are paid for them. This can mean water, cable or even security alarms but once they’re set up all your parents will have to do is check in from time to time to make sure their rates haven’t changed.
Online Accounts: Your folks may not understand the concept of an online savings account or the idea that they can have multiple accounts online. Show them how to view their accounts and even switch them over to all electronic bank statements if you think they’re ready.

Changing fees for checking accounts

www.harborpayments.com — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For years, banks have been rewarding their customers with free checking for their accounts. However, as a result of new regulations on the financial industry, many banks have been implementing fees for once-free services. Often, these fees can be avoided by reading the fine print, but it will be more important than ever for customers to stay on top of their bank’s rules and regulations.For example, Chase Total Checking is implementing a minimum cost for checking accounts of 12 a month if the customer does not maintain either a minimum balance of 1,500 in their checking account, 5,000 across all deposit accounts, or make a minimum of 500 in monthly deposits.Other banks are implementing similar regulations. Bank of America is testing a new system that would charge customers based on their amount of money and the number of accounts the customer has openfees would range from 6 to 25 a month. Citigroup is instituting fees for basic accounts of 8 if customers do not conduct transactions at least five times a month. Finally, Wells Fargo will be charging new customers 5 a month for checking and 6.96 for online bill payments.Along with checking fees, banks are also instituting new ATM fees which could hit customers who regularly use machines from outside their banking chain. To avoid these new charges, customers should be sure that they understand the changes that are being made and determine whether the account will continue to work for them. If a bank waives fees based on how many times you use your debit card but you prefer checking, you will either need to change your spending habits or consider another bank. The research may be rough, but the results will be worth it.

PayPal: e-commerce’s best friend

www.harborpayments.com — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:42:01 +0000

PayPal, the e-commerce business formed in 2000, is the hypothetical middleman that common wisdom would have you cut out. In the world of online payments, though, it can be quite handy to have a barrier between a seller and your bank account. PayPal processes payments for commercial vendors and auction sites for a fee. The buyer pays money to PayPal, and the vendor is then paid in the form of a check or a deposit (into their own PayPal account or bank account). At no point does the vendor see the buyer’s bank information.In 2002, eBay purchased PayPal, recognizing the applications such a business would have to their online auctions. PayPal is now a wholly-owned subsidiary. Since then, PayPal has made some acquisitions of its own, including the Israeli start-up Fraud Sciences, which they are using to develop new fraud detection tools, and Bill Me Later, a service similar to PayPal which offers transactional credit at online vendors.The business has embraced some of online banking’s features, especially by offering a Student Account for teenage consumers. The account, which is set up by parents, gives teens a Debit MasterCard which they can use for purchases. In fact, internationally, PayPal is regulated as a bank in Luxembourg.With the popularity of online payments in today’s society, PayPal should remain a powerful force. Google has even offered its own alternative, Google Checkout, although in 2006 eBay added Google Checkout to its banned payments list.

Online payment security

www.harborpayments.com — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 11:13:47 +0000

Online banking sites have a great deal of responsibility when it comes to their customers. That’s why a single password just won’t cut it. Instead, most banking sites use one of two main security types. The first is the PIN/TAN system. The PIN is the password for accessing the account, and the TAN is a sort of one-time password for authenticating transactionshence “Transaction Authentication Number.” TANs are usually generated by security tokens. The other type of security used is signature-based. In this security model, each transaction is signed and digitally encrypted. The encryption keys are usually stored on smartcards or other memory mediums.Electronic online banking is prone to a host of attacks, including phishsing, pharming, and monitoring programs like keyloggers. These programs attempt to steal a user’s password and TANs to access their account. The new Man in the Browser attack is a type of trojan which lets hackers modify existing transactions with their own destinations and amounts. Digital certificates and virus scanners are the best ways to protect against these sorts of threats.

Benefits of online savings accounts

www.harborpayments.com — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:57:23 +0000

A recent survey by the American Bankers Association found that 36 of respondents now preferred online banking. That’s 11 more than last year, and also 11 more than those who still prefer visiting branches. One of the reasons for the growth in supporters has to be the new benefits associated with online savings accounts.Today, while many savings accounts are lowering their interest rates, online accounts are offering higher rates and waived fees. At American Express, for example, you can create an online account with no minimum deposit or balance with a yield of 1.3. SLM offers a deposit- and fee-free account with an annual yield of 1.4. Some banks are also partnering with primary schools around the country to offer accounts with smaller deposits but greater interest rates. For instance, Cardinal Bank in Virginia offers a special account option for students at 11 elementary and middle schools, featuring an annual yield of 2.5 and a deposit maximum of 1,000.The majority of people taking advantage of online banking are under 55 years of age, so the physical banks won’t be disappearing anytime soon. Still, online banking is an attractive option with its ability to conduct transactions in the warmth and comfort of your own homeeven in your pajamas, if you so choose. Among teenage users, mobile banking is slowly rising in popularity, with most of the 3 concentrated between the ages of 18 and 34.