Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.

We post an all new idea every day. If you find an idea you like... do something about it. Make it happen.

Our Latest Posts About: Finance

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...

How Banks Can Make Checking Accounts More Secure

Sunday, September 4, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Checking accounts are NOT secure. Here's how they can fix it.

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, paying bills by writing a check is NOT secure, because every time you give somebody a paper check, you are also giving them everything they need to access your checking account, including your account number and even the bank's routing number.

Meanwhile, people go out of their way to shred bank statements, deposit slips, and anything that shows their account number, but they hand out checks that contain exactly that.

The solution is to have the banks issue checks WITHOUT your account number on them. Each check would have a unique one time use code that is different on each check that is linked back to your account. Since each check would have a unique code, the recipient of... [More]

Continue...How Banks Can Make Checking Accounts More Secure...

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....

There Should Be a Way to Pay Bills With Credit Cards That Don't Expire

Sunday, August 21, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Isn't it a pain in the neck when a stored credit card expires and you have to update dozens of accounts?

Just about everyone today has at least a few bills that are automatically paid by a stored debit or credit card number. In fact, for a lot of people, they rarely need to write a physical check, because they can pay just about every bill from a stored card number.

Unfortunately, stored cards have expiration dates, and from time to time a bank will send out new cards even before the expiration dates. For example, my bank changed their logo a few years ago, so they issued new cards, and they sent another replacement when they incorporated support for the new chip based security.

In each case, whenever a card expiration date changes, we are forced to change the stored card... [More]

Continue...There Should Be a Way to Pay Bills With Credit Cards That Don't Expire...

Beware of HIDDEN $6 ATM Fees

Monday, May 16, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Did you know most banks charge an ADDITIONAL $3 fee to use an ATM?

Although ATMs are required to disclose their fees before you agree to use them, most people aren't aware that their own bank will charge them too, and they won't know about that fee until they take the time to read it on their statement. In most cases, that's an additional $3, and you may not even notice the second fee until weeks later.

I realized this the hard way, when I just happened to notice the $3 fee on my statement. At first, I assumed it was the $3 fee I agreed to when I used the ATM, but then I realized that the $3 ATM fee was already included in the transaction.

So, my original $20 withdrawal read $23, then there was a separate $3 ATM Fee... for a grand total of $6, for just a $20 withdrawal,

... [More]

Continue...Beware of HIDDEN $6 ATM Fees...

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....

Receipts In The Cloud, Linked to Loyalty Cards.

Monday, August 17, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

I hate looking for my receipts!

Today's inspiration came from two places, PetSmart, and Neat Receipts.

PetSmart recently started offering customers the option to get an emailed receipt. This is not only a way to save paper, but a great way to archive your receipts. It's pretty simple. Since they already have your email address, they send your receipt as a PDF.

Neat Receipts is a service that lets you scan your receipts into the cloud, then run reports you can use to track expenses.

Wouldn't it be great if you could access ALL of your receipts from every store you visit, without scanning?

There's room for a company like DropBox, or Neat Receipts to provide a service that lets merchants link their customer loyalty cards to a cloud... [More]

Continue...Receipts In The Cloud, Linked to Loyalty Cards....

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...

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...

6 Ways Banks Can Prevent Overdraft Fees.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Overdraft fees are a big source of revenue for banks.

Long before today's automation, a "Bounced Check" was actually a labor intensive activity. You wrote a check from your local checking account and sent it to somebody at a completely different bank, and that check travelled back and forth between the banks, until it "cleared". If your account didn't have the funds to cover it, the check was like a needle in a haystack... but they managed to send it back to the person who deposited it, only to be sent back to the original bank. It's no wonder they charged a fee for bouncing checks.

Times have changed. Labor has been eliminated, but the fees have grown larger.

Bank charges are understandable if somebody hand writes a bad check, because they are responsible for check

... [More]

Continue...6 Ways Banks Can Prevent Overdraft 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...

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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Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.

Our Latest Posts About: Finance

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

Checking accounts are NOT secure. Here's how they can fix it.

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

Isn't it a pain in the neck when a stored credit card expires and you have to update dozens of accounts?

Did you know most banks charge an ADDITIONAL $3 fee to use an ATM?

So, my original $20 withdrawal read $23, then there was a separate $3 ATM Fee... for a grand total of $6, for just a $20 withdrawal,

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

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

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

Prevent Forced Access to Your Accounts.

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.

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

I hate looking for my receipts!

Wouldn't it be great if you could access ALL of your receipts from every store you visit, without scanning?

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

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.

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

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

The key to pro

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

Overdraft fees are a big source of revenue for banks.

Bank charges are understandable if somebody hand writes a bad check, because they are responsible for check

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.

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

Does this text message conversation sound familiar?

Why are there less than 565 popular PIN numbers?

Picking a better PIN

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