When hiring a financial consultant there are myriad ways to assess his or her experience and ability to help achieve your goals. In this type affiliation it is possible to meet with a prospective advisor to obtain the tent poles of their strategy that support the means to the desired end. You can even talk to other clients to get feedback about their experience with them! However, when it comes to the financial partnership you forge with your significant other, the scenario is completely different. Whether you meet that special person through a mutual friend or at an industry event, you determine your compatibility by common likes and dislikes and… Read More
The Top Ten Crazy State Payroll Laws
If you’re not an industry insider, you may not believe the nuances of the laws which govern us are quite as interesting as they are. We love the recent infographic created by the American Payroll Association. It’s a great addition to the “Did You Know” category about America’s payroll rules and regulations. Pay Cards Even though it comes in as Number Eight – let’s start with pay cards in Hawaii. A scenically glorious place to live – but if you want to pay your clients using them – there exists a list of twelve requirements with which you must comply – including one that allows employees to make at least… Read More
How To Track Your Spending
Socrates certainly got right to the point when he opined that “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Philosophically makes a lot of sense actually, especially when it comes to finances. Do you pay attention to what you spend? Really pay attention? Here at rapid! PayCard® we are advocates of knowing your limits and not spending beyond your means. You can more easily rein yourself in when you are working from an infrastructure that operates on the premise that understands: the funds you have are the funds you have. Consider for a moment there exists a comfortable cushion of cash in your prepaid account. Perhaps you are not scrambling to… Read More
Out of Network ATM Fees: Take Your Money and Run
It is true that it takes money to make money. Today, it is also true that it takes money to get your money. In third quarter 2014, Business Insider reported that ATM fees were at record highs after the 10th straight year of increases. The average surcharge that banks charge non-customers who use their ATMs climbed 6.5% to $2.77, marking the 10th year in a row of increases for this fee. The average fee banks charge their own customers for going to an outside ATM also rose to a new high of $1.58. That means that, combined, consumers pay an average of $4.35 each time they use an out-of-network ATM…. Read More
Developing and Maintaining Payroll Controls
BY GRETCHEN INOUYE, CPP Payroll, which includes taxes and benefits, is frequently the largest operating expense of an organization. Then when you factor in the confidential payroll information to the financial aspects, developing and maintaining adequate controls within the payroll environment is essential. Controls generally fall within three areas: physical controls, staffing practices, and system controls. The size and complexity of an organization will determine the levels and types of controls to implement, although some controls are applicable in all environments. Physical controls involve restricting access to payroll by establishing actual physical barriers such as using locks on doors, desks, and filing cabinets. If access to the payroll department is… Read More
The Rewards of No Overdraft Risks
Overdrafts. The bane of our bank accounts. This is just one of the financial expenses imposed on hard-working consumers; not to mention the costs of foreign Automated Teller Machines (ATM) fees when there’s not a branch in sight when you need one. It is of course clear that banks are a business. They provide a service and should be paid for it. But there’s compensation, and then there’s compensation. In May of 2015, CNN Money reported that America’s three biggest banks: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo earned over $1.1 billion on overdraft fees. And if they stay on pace and you extrapolate those numbers, from this fee stream alone,… Read More
The Appeal of the Prepaid Card
At first reflection, prepaid cards may seem a solution with limited bandwidth; suitable only for those with no other means of establishing and maintaining traditional bank and credit card accounts. Yet, as other tools have successfully morphed from their original intention (think Facebook moving from its original Harvard campus setting and transforming into an international behemoth), so have prepaid cards effectively made their journey from one subset into the general population. Prepaids Offer a Better Deal than Checking Accounts The PEW Charitable Trusts, an independent nonprofit organization that has itself evolved — into a global research and public policy organization — as a non-governmental organization, they are dedicated to serving the public. … Read More
Stay in Control with Prepaid Cards
Depending on your age, the traditional prepaid card may have always been a piece of plastic with a designated slot in your wallet. But if you remember a time when they didn’t exist, you know they were a revelation! With banks closed on the weekends and no Automated Teller Machines (ATM), you had to make certain you had enough cash to get through the weekend until normal banking hours resumed or else face having to use your credit card. That was the other thing, you always had to carry cash. Those vulnerable pieces of green paper so easily lost or stolen, so completely untraceable and irretrievable. In many respects, debit cards… Read More
Point, Click, Purchase
Whether for convenience or sheer affordability, shopping online is culturally entrenched. Downloading music day or night, purchasing theatre or airline tickets, spending an hour on Amazon buying all the Christmas toys on the list; it is the most effective use of retail time. You save on gas, on time spent looking for a parking space, and you avoid buying seven dollars’ worth of frozen yogurt at the mall. You can shop in your pajamas, in all kinds of weather, enjoy the benefits of free shipping, and even have gift items sent directly to their recipients — never having to step foot in the post office! How else is online shopping… Read More
Benefits of PayCards for HR Managers
It’s not often that one technology can accommodate the needs of a variety of industries. But when it comes to paying employees and supporting the associated payroll costs, our prepaid card has transcended the differences! There do exist some misconceptions about pay cards and how they work. They have gotten a bit of a raw deal due to nefarious companies who gouge their customers. In other words, a great concept distilled by greed. Not here. Our pay card concept is a straightforward, affordable one. As a prepaid card, it allows employees to receive and access wage payments, and also load government benefits or cash. The cardholder may then use the card… Read More