Finance Guide

Here is a list of facts that you should know about second chance banking before you actually sign up for one of these accounts.

No Credit Check

Probably the biggest plus to these types of accounts is that there is no credit check involved. This makes a big difference for a lot of people as having no credit check can mean that your past financial problems won’t impact your ability to open this account. Because of the no credit check clause, many people who are banned from normal banks open up second chance checking accounts.

No Checking

Many second chance accounts don’t offer checking services. This may or may not be a big deal for some people, but it’s important to know at least.

Higher Banking Fees

Second chance accounts may give you the opportunity to have an account with a bank even if no other bank will give you an account, but don’t expect this to come for free – or cheap. You will pay a lot more money in higher banking transaction fees and monthly service charge fees with a second chance account than any normal bank account. If you are already counting your pennies, then a second chance account may not be a good choice.

Internet Only

Second chance banking is internet only banking. That means there is no local branch you can visit to discuss any problems you may be having. Internet banking actually offers most of the services you are accustomed to with normal banking, but you won’t have that face to face interaction of a regular bank.

Restore Relationship with Banking World

A second chance bank account can help you get a normal bank account, in time.

Electronic funds transfers are one of the many useful services that may be offered by your local bank for your convenience. Unfortunately, a number of people don’t even know whether or not their bank offers this service. If you’ve ever wondered whether electronic funds transfers could be of use to you or exactly how these transfers work, then this article is intended to give you a brief overview of the process.

Definition

Before you can decide whether or not electronic funds transfers can be of use for your needs, it’s important that you understand exactly what they are. When you transfer money electronically, you’re basically deducting a specific amount of money from your savings or chequeing account and placing it into another account. This account can be another account that you own, or it can be an account of someone that you know or owe money to.

How These Transfers Work

Of course, the description above is a somewhat simplified version of what happens when you make electronic funds transfers. The actual process is a bit more complex, though not really all that complicated. When you authorize a transfer from your chequeing or savings account, the teller at your bank will begin the transfer process. The computer system that contains all of the bank’s account information will contact the system at the bank which hold the account that the money is being transferred to, unless the receiving account is held at the same bank in which case it will simply access the account in question.

It will then process a withdrawal from your account, and either send notice of an electronic deposit to the other bank system or post the deposit to the account directly if both accounts are at that bank. In many cases the transferred funds will be registered and available immediately, though depending upon bank policy there may be a holding period before the money is deposited and available.

Uses

Electronic funds transfers have a number of uses to fit the needs of banking customers. These transfers can be used to send money to friends or relatives, they can allow you to move funds from one of your accounts to another without the need to physically withdraw the money in question and redeposit it, and in many cases they can even be used to make electronic payments on loans, credit cards, and a variety of other bills and utilities. Consider your needs and discuss it with a representative of your bank in order to determine whether transfers are available and if they would suit your purposes.

Have you ever stopped to wonder exactly how it is that automatic teller machines (known as ATM’s) work? It seems so simple. You walk up to the machine, insert your ATM or debit card, and are then able to withdraw or deposit money, inquire on your account status, and in some cases even purchase postage or a variety of other goods or services.

There is obviously a computer at work, and it does its job well since it’s very rare that the ATM makes a mistake. To help provide some insight into the automated teller, here is an overview of exactly how the ATM does all of the things that it does.

What are automatic teller machines?

They are basically computerized bank interfaces, allowing customers to access several banking features any time of the day or night regardless of whether the actual bank is open or not.

While there are some features that cannot be accessed from an ATM (such as opening a new account or applying for a loan), modern ATMs strive to allow customers to have as much of the banking experience available to them as possible.

How ATMs work

ATM operation is fairly straightforward. A computer within the machine allows users to choose from a variety of different options after they insert or swipe their ATM or debit card. The card information along with their choices is sent to a computer at the bank where the ATM is located or to the bank which controls the ATM, if the machine is a stand-alone that isn’t located at a bank branch.

If the individual using the machine is a customer at the bank, then the computer then accesses their account; if they are not, then the bank’s computer contacts the computer at the user’s home bank.

Checks are made to see whether or not the user can complete the transaction that they request, and if so then the transaction is completed. An electronic eye within the ATM counts any money that is given, making a record of the bills used and whether any of them are damaged, while a camera and, sometimes a microphone, record the user in case there is a need to know who used the card.

ATMs and other banks

Almost all automatic teller machines allow users from other banks to make use of them, though there is generally a service charge associated with this. The options available may be limited when the user isn’t a customer with the bank that controls the ATM; they may not be able to make certain inquiries or deposits, or access certain features that the machine offers. In many cases, however, most or all of the options offered by a particular machine are available to all users, regardless of their bank of origin.

When ATMs make mistakes

It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally ATM machines do make mistakes. This is usually due to some glitch in the software, or by bills that are loaded incorrectly or that are sticking to each other and causing a jam or blockage. If this happens to you, report the problem to the bank that controls the ATM as soon as possible. They will check the internal records of the machine, and work to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible.

In most cases, checking the records will not only reveal the source of your problem so that it can be corrected but will also help them to fix the problem so that it doesn’t happen to others.