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Our Latest Posts About: Banking

Alerts Before Fees!

Wednesday, April 5, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why don't banks and credit card companies warn you before charging a fee?

It drives me crazy whenever I get an overdraft or late fee from a bank or credit card company. Most of the time, its because of a simple oversight, which could've been avoided if they had the courtesy of sending me an alert BEFORE they assess the fee.

This would be super easy to implement. Most of them already have our email address and mobile phone numbers. All they need to do is send us an alert, giving us a little time to fix the problem. For banks, that could simply mean an hour or so to transfer money, and for credit card companies, just give us a day to make an online or phone payment.

A little courtesy can go a long way towards eliminating problems like this, but I have the feeling they lik... [More]

Continue...Alerts Before Fees!...

P2P SmartPhone Payments

Thursday, February 9, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

If the future of money is digital, we need a quick way to exchange money between people, not just stores.

I love the idea of an E-Wallet. The only problem is it's only useful when you make purchases online or in stores. When it comes to paying from person to person, our options are still pretty limited.

Other than PayPal, there are virtually no effective ways to pay individuals, but even PayPal has a lot of limits, because the recipient needs to have a PayPal account and share their email address with you.

What we really need is a fast, and secure way to exchange money between people, without sharing card numbers, phone numbers, or even your email address with strangers. SmartPhones have the potential to make this happen, using the same tap to pay technology used when pa... [More]

Continue...P2P SmartPhone Payments...

Beware of Phone Scammers

Thursday, October 27, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Now that it's virtually free to make calls from around the world, there are more phone scammers than ever before.

Yesterday, I talked a bit about "ScareWare", the fake messages you see on your computer screen warning you that you have a computer problem such as a virus. As a followup, I'd like to draw attention to a similar problem, that doesn't involve your computer, but it can be just as dangerous, phone scammers.

Unlike telemarketers, who are just pests trying to make a sale, today's phone scammers are truly evil people trying to steal as much from you as they can, because they know they will never get caught.

While there are literally hundreds of scams out there, the three most common are:

1. Fake IRS or Law Enforcement Agent.

This one is one of the most wid... [More]

Continue...Beware of Phone Scammers...

Why Paying Bills With a Check is Not Secure.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

People go out of their way to shred anything with their account number, but they forget about the most obvious document, a check.

I know a lot of people who refuse to use the Internet to pay their bills. To them, there's no substitute for the "Security" of hand writing their checks, and putting them into an envelope. After all, everyone knows how insecure the "InterWeb" can be... Right?

The truth is, every time you hand somebody a check, you are not only giving them your bank account, but everything they need to take advantage of it, including your name, address, and even the routing number.

All an identity thief needs to access your account is right there in black and white. An identity thief who takes a job processing checks can simply write down, or even take a photo... [More]

Continue...Why Paying Bills With a Check is Not Secure....

How Banks INTENTIONALLY Rip Off Customers!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Here's how banks use technology to intentionally boost overdraft fees.

I hate when I see companies intentionally doing things to take advantage of consumers, and this one in particular is an example of how not only one company, but an entire industry goes out of their way to rip off customers.

Here's the problem in a nutshell.

Let's say you have $500 in the bank, and you go shopping using your debit card.

First you buy something for $10.
Then you buy something else for $10
You then spend another $10 in 8 other stores.
All together you've spent $100 of the $500 in 10 different stores, leaving you $400.

On your way home, you have a problem with your car and you spend $500 to have it fixed.

Since you now have $400 in the bank, the $500 transaction is considered an... [More]

Continue...How Banks INTENTIONALLY Rip Off Customers!...

PayPal Checkbooks

Friday, January 15, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Wouldn't it be great if you could write checks from your PayPal balance?

Every day, millions of people receive payments from PayPal, but unless they transfer it to their bank, they can only access it using a debit card. That's pretty strange when you think of it because PayPal is just like an online checking account.

So if you want to pay a bill with PayPal or give cash to somebody who doesn't have a PayPal account, you need to transfer it to your bank before you can write a check. For some banks, this could take a few days.

By offering a traditional checkbook option, online businesses could consolidate their bookkeeping by eliminating the need to open a brick and mortar bank account. Online sales would continue to go directly into the PayPal account, but the business w... [More]

Continue...PayPal Checkbooks...

Statements Shouldn't Show Card Numbers or Bank Account Numbers

Sunday, November 15, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Shredding credit card statements can't protect you from stolen mail.

It's always struck me as odd that anyone who gets their hands on your mail has access to your actual account numbers Credit card statements normally show the entire card number, and checking account statements show your bank account numbers. If a thief steals your checking account statement from your mailbox, they have everything they need to print checks in your name.

Since it's not easy securing your mailbox, banks and credit card companies need to use an alternate account number on statements. Instead of putting the entire account number, just the last 4 digits would be sufficient. In fact, for checking accounts, there's no reason to even put any of the actual account numbers on the statement. They ca... [More]

Continue...Statements Shouldn't Show Card Numbers or Bank Account Numbers...

Fake ATM PINs

Tuesday, November 10, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Prevent Forced Access to Your Accounts.

From time to time, I hear stories on the news about people who were robbed at an ATM. I often wondered if some of those thefts could've been avoided by using a fake ATM PIN.

If a thief followed you to the bank and demanded you take out a large sum, wouldn't it be great if you had a secret second PIN that could prevent them from getting away with it?

Instead of entering your real PIN, you enter the fake one, and it displays a random balance less than $40, allowing you to only take out $20... and silently calls the police.

The fake PIN gives the thief the appearance that you are cooperating. Taking it to the next level, it could trigger the ATM to take high resolution pictures of the area surrounding the ATM, and even dispens... [More]

Continue...Fake ATM PINs...

P2P Payments By Tapping Mobile Phones.

Friday, August 28, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

NFC has revolutionized the payment industry. Why limit it to purchases in stores?

There's a lot of buzz in the industry about NFC payments, which allow you to securely make payments by tapping payment terminals with your smartphone.

NFC, which stands for "Near Field Communication" uses very low powered antennas that pass data only at very short distances, which means you generally need to tap your smartphone directly against another NFC compatible device to send it, which makes it perfect for swapping contact information, photos, or digital payments, such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, etc.

The great thing about NFC is that it's actually even more secure than a traditional credit card, because the recipient doesn't actually get access to your credit card number. NFC paymen... [More]

Continue...P2P Payments By Tapping Mobile Phones....

Single Use Credit Card Numbers

Saturday, June 13, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Welcome to Billy Ray Valentine's Half Price Persian Rug Site. Please enter your credit card here.

Let's face it, we all love to hunt for bargains online, but it's hard to tell which sites you can trust enough to give your credit card number to. Not only do you risk paying for something that never arrives, but there's a good chance the site itself could be a complete hoax designed to steal credit card numbers.

One easy solution would be to have Single Use Credit Card Numbers. The concept is simple. Rather than read the numbers off your own card, the card company can issue a single use card number on their web site, or through an App. When you need to make a purchase, instead of entering your regular account number, you can just pop in the Single Use Card Number and a even... [More]

Continue...Single Use Credit Card Numbers...

Predictive Overdraft Alerts

Wednesday, June 10, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Most banks can send you an alert when you have an overdraft, but they don't send you an alert BEFORE you have an overdraft.

Before online banking came along, it was pretty easy to maintain a traditional checkbook, and prevent overdrafts. As long as you recorded every deposit, and withdrawal, you knew exactly how much was in the account at any given time, so it was easy making sure you never bounced a check.

Today, more people pay their bills through automatic bill payments than ever before, so balancing your checkbook is a lot harder. Even when you write down every deposit or withdrawal, your balance can be a moving target as your scheduled automatic payments hit the account, so you need to constantly check the account to see what payments were posted.

Since some payments... [More]

Continue...Predictive Overdraft Alerts...

Security Deposits As An Alternative to Minimum Daily Balance.

Thursday, May 28, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Here's how banks can offer an alternative to minimum balance maintenance fees.

One of the worst things about "Free Checking", is that banks find all sorts of ways of charging fees. For example, many banks charge a monthly fee whenever your balance drops below a pre-set amount, even if it only drops to that point one day in the month.

This has always bugged me, because that basically means that there's a portion of your money that you can never quite have access to. So even when you have $1100 in the account, you really only have $1000 you can touch. The bank wins whether they charge the fee or not, because if a million people never touch that remaining $100, they have $100 million more liquid funds to lend out on any given day.

The trouble is, as long as the account has... [More]

Continue...Security Deposits As An Alternative to Minimum Daily Balance....

All Banks Should Use Cash Dispensers

Friday, January 30, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Once you see a teller use a cash dispenser, you've got to wonder why every bank doesn't use them.

TD Bank recently opened a branch near me. My first impression was that it reminded me of what banks were like when I grew up, before tellers were placed inside a cage made of 2 inch bulletproof glass.

Back then, banking was simpler. The teller could literally count your money as she placed it into your hand. I guess you can't blame them, those glass cages were their only defense against bank robbers.

If those glass cages are there to prevent bank robberies, why would TD Bank open branches without them? The trouble is, cages didn't stop bank robbers from holding a gun to the nearest customer's head unless the teller unloads all the cash in their drawer.

The key to pro

... [More]

Continue...All Banks Should Use Cash Dispensers...

Checking Accounts... With Sub-Accounts

Thursday, January 29, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Accounting would be a lot easier if checking accounts had sub-accounts.

Many people have a hard time keeping track of expenses. For somebody who pays a lot of bills, the hardest thing is keeping track of all the different categories of expenses.

Wouldn't it be great if banks offered a checking account that let you define sub-accounts for each of the most common categories? You could define categories such as:

Payroll
Utilities
Insurance
Office Supplies
Advertising
Taxes
Inventory
Professional Services
Maintenance / Repairs
etc..

They could issue checkbooks with each sub-account number pre-printed, or give you a box to fill out on the check. Then, when you get your statement, it could automatically summarize your expenses by category. Having your statement al... [More]

Continue...Checking Accounts... With Sub-Accounts...

2 Step Credit Cards

Saturday, January 17, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

You're on your way back from Walmart. You dropped your credit card. That's okay. Nobody can use it but you.

Two Step Credit Cards could eliminate almost all fraudulent credit card transactions. Really.

The key to protecting credit cards from fraudulent transactions is to somehow guarantee that the card owner is the only person who can use the card. So how can we do that, especially now that many stores don't even require a signature for small transactions?

One way us to use 2 Step Credit Cards, which are cards that are linked to a cell phone or some other wireless device. Once the card is registered, every time you make a purchase, it sends an alert to your device asking for approval. Assuming you link it to a cell phone, which is always with you, you simply approve... [More]

Continue...2 Step Credit Cards...

ATMs Need to Disclose ALL Fees. Let's put a stop to $6+ ATM Fees.

Monday, October 27, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Not long ago, people complained when ATMs started charging 50 cents to withdraw funds. Now that ATMs cost as much as $6 or more, why aren't people complaining? Perhaps they don't know the whole story.

I would often use a Citibank ATM instead of my own bank, because it was 2 minutes closer to me and it had better parking.

Every time I used that ATM, it warned me that they charge $3 to use their ATM. That's only half true. Each ATM withdrawal was actually costing $6, because my own bank charges a $3 fee too, but the ATM doesn't tell you that. You only find out if you look at your bank statement.

The funny thing is I discovered this accidentally. I generally ignored the warning about the $3 ATM fee, because as far as I knew, my bank claimed that they waived a ce... [More]

Continue...ATMs Need to Disclose ALL Fees. Let's put a stop to $6+ ATM Fees....

Banks Should Stop Inflating Overdraft Charges by Sorting Charges By Amounts By LOWEST First

Thursday, October 9, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

What's worse than getting a $35 overdraft fee for a $5 debit card purchase?

Realizing they intentionally rigged their system to make it happen.

Banks are wonderful institutions. They are also a business trying to increase profits. I'm an Entrepreneur, so I'm not against that. What bothers me is that they don't play fair, because they intentionally process your transactions by sorting the highest charges first, to increase the number of overdraft fees..

What's the difference between sorting charges Lowest First vs Highest First?

Two words. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Consider the following premise.

1. Your checking account has $85 when you start your day.
2. You purchase 3 low priced items totalling $42, then charge a $100 item.

Based on th... [More]

Continue...Banks Should Stop Inflating Overdraft Charges by Sorting Charges By Amounts By LOWEST First...

Teach Students to Pace Their Spending With Daily Scheduled Deposits

Thursday, October 2, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Does this text message conversation sound familiar?

Parent: How's school?

Student: SEND MONEY!

Parent: Didn't I just send you money?

Student: SPENT IT... PLEASE SEND MORE!

Parent: Okay, but try to pace yourself this time. This is the third time you've gone over your budget this semester.

Student: Thank U soooo much! Love U.

First of all, college students need to understand that writing "Love U" makes them look like they're still in grade school, but that should be the subject of another Idea Of The Day.

If you look at the course requirements to get a college degree, one thing that is missing is personal finance. For a lot of students, a budget is more difficult than calculus. For students who have trouble pacing themselves, it's feast... [More]

Continue...Teach Students to Pace Their Spending With Daily Scheduled Deposits...

How banks can make checking accounts safe again.

Friday, September 12, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

The problem with today's checking account system

We've been trained over the past 20 years to think that we must hide our account numbers at any cost. Which is why most of us now have shredders in our houses... just to mutilate our bank statements and receipts.

We do everything we can to keep people crawling in our trash from getting our bank account numbers.

But wait!... Every time we write a check, we are actually giving somebody our entire account number!

Huh? How the heck is that safe? Basically, any stranger who handles a check we write, from a clerk in a supermarket to the people in the back offices at the utility companies has our entire account number in their hands.

I guess we all have to assume that 100% of the people who will have access to our ac

... [More]

Continue...How banks can make checking accounts safe again....

Another Security Tip... BETTER PIN numbers

Wednesday, September 10, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Quick question, how many times would it take to crack the typical 4 digit PIN number?

Did you guess 9999? Believe it or not, there are less than 565 VERY common PIN numbers.

Why are there less than 565 popular PIN numbers?

Here's why.

A lot of people pick a birthday. That's 365 possible combinations, 12 possible combinations for the first two digits 01-12, and 31 possible combinations for the second 2 digits. Even worse, some use the year of their birth.

What are the other 200?

A lot of people who don't use dates, use repeating 2 digit numbers, like their birth day, such as 0505, or year such as 7575.

The final 100 are years. Since there aren't many people over 100, that's only another 100 possible choices.

Picking a better PIN

Mix things... [More]

Continue...Another Security Tip... BETTER PIN numbers...

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

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