By Michael Russell
Before you do this, make sure to compare existing offers from at least three different facilities, such as banks, building societies and other financial institutions. Your bank doesn’t necessarily give you the best deal just because you are currently banking with them. It pays to shop around before you make a decision and inform yourself. Most financial institutions worldwide offer online banking these days. So it shouldn’t be too hard to find something suitable for your needs.
What are the benefits of online banking? For starters it is a convenience, as it allows us to deal with our banking needs totally from the comfort of our home or office. As long as you have an internet connection and an online account set up, you are set to go.
Most banks offer a host of different activities in your online banking account such as: transfer funds (moving/sending money from one account to another), pay anyone (send money from your account to another account), schedule your regular bill payments (organizing your bills to be paid on a certain recurring date), check balances of your account anytime (whether day or night), apply for an online loan, see a list of all/any transactions you have made from your account and the ability to print them out if needed, financial planner (the ability to plan your finances via a help function), order cheques (you can even order cheques to pay your bills if you like online).
Online banking is easy to learn and apply. However, there is a serious side to it and that is internet security. Banks go to great length these days to keep your money and your data safe from online crooks. You will be supplied with a password, which you should change as soon as you have your account set up. There are also rules and regulations (the fine print) you will have to agree to, before opening your account. It certainly pays to read them in detail prior to adding your signature to the contract. Yes, you will be entering into a contract with your bank, just as you do with offline activities. So make sure you read this contract carefully before signing anything. You will avoid nasty surprises if you do this correctly.
As with many things these days there are always pros and cons to apply a certain method such as online banking. On the positive side online banking is great because: it eliminates cutting down trees and therefore it is beneficial to the environment, you can check your account balance anytime 24 hours/7 days week, you don’t have to spend time waiting in bank queues, you can send money to anywhere in the world with a click of a button, it simply is an easier way to do your banking. On the negative side, online banking might not be a good option for some because: someone could steal your money from your account via hacking into it and you will need your own computer to do online banking (you can do it in an internet café, but this is not recommended due to security reasons). Some people still wonder whether online banking is safe. It also eliminates a lot of jobs in the workforce. When you get paid via cheques you will still have to go to your local branch to cash them.
Whatever it is you believe regarding online banking, you will have to make the right decision that is best suited to you and your needs. For most of the people who choose online banking, it is probably the convenience factor that really convinces them the most. As an online banking customer you have legal rights to protect you and your identity. These are also called consumer rights. They have been established to protect you as the customer and to make sure that the bank is operating within the law.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
Friday, July 10, 2009
Search For Unclaimed Money and Property in Your Name
By Russ D Johnson
The country has a new captain at the helm and Americans are all set to try to shift the country's economic course the only way they can. A recession has hit the country on both costs and is rapidly creeping-up towards the central states. Countless folks are out of jobs, out of houses and almost out of hope. Even with the hopes of a new, smarter President, it will take a while for the U.S. economy to recover. Americans, regardless of name, are going to need all the resources they have at their disposal to survive these lean times. One possible source of cash that only a few citizens know is state unclaimed money.
Unknown to the general public, the government collects lost or abandoned financial assets from businesses, banks and financial institutions every year. According to the NAUPA, an acronym for National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, "Unclaimed property (sometimes referred to as abandoned) refers to accounts in financial institutions and companies that have had no activity generated or contact with the owner for one year or a longer period. Common forms of unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, refunds, traveler's checks, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates (in some states), insurance payments or refunds and life insurance policies, annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments, utility security deposits, mineral royalty payments, and contents of safe deposit boxes" Currently, these are worth roughly $33 billion spread-out among the different State Treasuries and all people have to do is search for unclaimed money by person name.
Quite ironic that in this time of economic strife, people still lose track of their finances and never take the time search for money under their name. These funds sit in banks, insurance companies, various businesses, etc. until their owners remember and come to get them. Otherwise, they're collected by the US government as State unclaimed property after the specified period of dormancy (3-5 years usually). An excerpt from a press release by Georgia State Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property Unit explains dormancy periods best: "The time that must elapse for property to be determined "abandoned" and turned over to the state varies depending on the type of property. For example, unclaimed wages and company liquidation proceeds must be turned over to the state after one year. The vast majority of unclaimed property must be turned over to the state five years after the last contact with the rightful owner. Time frames for other types of property are: safe deposit box contents must be forwarded to the state two years after the box was opened by the holding financial institution; money orders seven years after the issue date; and traveler's checks 15 years from the issue date."
The excerpt from is fairly standard across all 50 U.S. States and most have websites where visitors may search by name to locate assets due to them.
The Unclaimed Property Division in each state takes charge of safekeeping the citizens' lost assets and locating the owners. Most States keep the funds indefinitely until the owners or their beneficiaries look for unclaimed money by a persons name and realize they're actually missing money and show-up to collect. However, if you live in Idaho or Indiana, you are urged to search as soon as possible if you have never searched. After 10 years, if the property if not claimed, the state takes possession forever. Currently, time restraints do not apply to some of the more active states like California, Texas, Washington, New York or Florida. All Americans are urged to search for unclaimed money and property in their names each year, and several times per year as funds are added year round.
Unclaimed money and property expert Russ Johnson has been assisting Americans in finding their unclaimed money online since 1997. His sites are http://www.unclaimedmoney.net and http://www.unclaimedfunds.net which are updated regularly with the latest missing money information, news, and direct access to each states official unclaimed funds websites. Mr. Johnson is on a mission to inform all Americans of this little and often misunderstood program overlooked by U.S. Government offices.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russ_D_Johnson
The country has a new captain at the helm and Americans are all set to try to shift the country's economic course the only way they can. A recession has hit the country on both costs and is rapidly creeping-up towards the central states. Countless folks are out of jobs, out of houses and almost out of hope. Even with the hopes of a new, smarter President, it will take a while for the U.S. economy to recover. Americans, regardless of name, are going to need all the resources they have at their disposal to survive these lean times. One possible source of cash that only a few citizens know is state unclaimed money.
Unknown to the general public, the government collects lost or abandoned financial assets from businesses, banks and financial institutions every year. According to the NAUPA, an acronym for National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, "Unclaimed property (sometimes referred to as abandoned) refers to accounts in financial institutions and companies that have had no activity generated or contact with the owner for one year or a longer period. Common forms of unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, refunds, traveler's checks, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates (in some states), insurance payments or refunds and life insurance policies, annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments, utility security deposits, mineral royalty payments, and contents of safe deposit boxes" Currently, these are worth roughly $33 billion spread-out among the different State Treasuries and all people have to do is search for unclaimed money by person name.
Quite ironic that in this time of economic strife, people still lose track of their finances and never take the time search for money under their name. These funds sit in banks, insurance companies, various businesses, etc. until their owners remember and come to get them. Otherwise, they're collected by the US government as State unclaimed property after the specified period of dormancy (3-5 years usually). An excerpt from a press release by Georgia State Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property Unit explains dormancy periods best: "The time that must elapse for property to be determined "abandoned" and turned over to the state varies depending on the type of property. For example, unclaimed wages and company liquidation proceeds must be turned over to the state after one year. The vast majority of unclaimed property must be turned over to the state five years after the last contact with the rightful owner. Time frames for other types of property are: safe deposit box contents must be forwarded to the state two years after the box was opened by the holding financial institution; money orders seven years after the issue date; and traveler's checks 15 years from the issue date."
The excerpt from is fairly standard across all 50 U.S. States and most have websites where visitors may search by name to locate assets due to them.
The Unclaimed Property Division in each state takes charge of safekeeping the citizens' lost assets and locating the owners. Most States keep the funds indefinitely until the owners or their beneficiaries look for unclaimed money by a persons name and realize they're actually missing money and show-up to collect. However, if you live in Idaho or Indiana, you are urged to search as soon as possible if you have never searched. After 10 years, if the property if not claimed, the state takes possession forever. Currently, time restraints do not apply to some of the more active states like California, Texas, Washington, New York or Florida. All Americans are urged to search for unclaimed money and property in their names each year, and several times per year as funds are added year round.
Unclaimed money and property expert Russ Johnson has been assisting Americans in finding their unclaimed money online since 1997. His sites are http://www.unclaimedmoney.net and http://www.unclaimedfunds.net which are updated regularly with the latest missing money information, news, and direct access to each states official unclaimed funds websites. Mr. Johnson is on a mission to inform all Americans of this little and often misunderstood program overlooked by U.S. Government offices.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russ_D_Johnson
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