credit

A Personal Review: Massachusetts Credit Union Website

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An associate of mine offered to review the website: Massachusetts credit union, which you can find at http://www.wcu.com. So it’s over to you, J. and thank you for taking the time to review this site.

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Easily Accessible Rates

I absolutely loved how easy it was to find the various rates on this website. I have been shopping around for a new bank account for my girlfriend for a while, and know how buried some of these rates can be. Even though the law says they need to be out there, some sites still push them into the background.

With one click, (on the “for rates” button) I can instantly have access to the various rates the credit union offers on each account. Now, the fact that this credit union has an APY of 1% on their online savings account is intriguing, I’d switch if I didn’t have a better rate at the moment, but that’s neither here nor there.

Think About the User

I like that I can sign in to my home banking account right from the front page, and that it’s on the left of the page, which is where my eyes fall naturally. I’m a little confused as to why I’m required to sign in to all the different services separately. A unified login feature would be amazing, so I can check my account balance and my credit card status all in one go.

Were I using this site for the first time, I might experience some confusion about where exactly to log in. While the website isn’t exactly hideous, I’m not sure why there are so many colors going on. Not only are there eight different shades of green prominently featured, but red, tan, blue, and orange all make appearances. It all adds up to look a little bit on the messy side.

There’s also an overwhelming amount of links on the front page. I get that the goal is to get me to have to use as little of the page as possible, but it’s frustrating enough that it is kind of hard to figure out where I’m supposed to look. I would love to see the site use more of its pages for practical reasons.

Too Much Mumbo Jumbo?

Some of the services available make me nervous as well. What is a jumbo loan? Is it a loan that is bigger than a regular loan? Are the interests rates higher to go along with it? When it comes to my finances, there is a set of terminology that I am used to, and this certainly is not it.

Words like jumbo to me belong as descriptions for elephants in parades. When dealing with my money, I’d prefer the language be kept professional and typical. I’m grateful that the site makes it easy to find that it is a member of the CU Service Centers.

Accessible Banking Offline, too

But as a credit union member, I’m often asked how I can bank when I’m away from home, and the answer is simple. There are hundreds if not thousands of banks that are within a short distance from me no matter where I am, because of the CU Service Center network.

Functional: Needs TLC

Overall, I think the site is ugly but functional. There are a few tweaks that would make it excellent to use, but overall it certainly is not bad. It is easier to find information here than it is on many similar websites.

How does this site compare to your bank or financial services company? Do they get it? Or is their website just an afterthought? Write and share YOUR feedback with me!

Cash vs. Credit Cards: Cash is nearly always better value for customers

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InvestorBlogger says in response to a post on Bargaineering about Credit Cards vs. Cash.

We run a business here in Taiwan, and we specifically don’t take credit cards in any form. Why? Our best prices are for cash purchases, and that’s what we give our customers.

While we may win a few extra dollars from additional transactions, having that extra middleman just isn’t worth the hassle of letting someone else look after our money.

With installation fees, monthly terminal fees, fees on each transaction, and numerous penalty fees that may apply, plus the risk of the credit card company NOT paying up promptly due to chargebacks, we could actually end up out of pocket for transactions that, cash-wise, would already have been ‘settled’.

The upshot is that, for the foreseeable future, we are not likely to take credit cards, in any shape or form. If we were to, we’d likely have to increase our prices for ALL of our customers by at least 5% to cover most costs. This is not an unusual choice in many more cash-based economies, such as Taiwan’s but in the UK/USA it would be quite an unusual position for a retailer to take.

I really don’t understand why consumers think credit card spending is better. It’s not. It’s not better for you, it’s not better for me. And it’s not generally better for society. Do you know any businesses that specifically reject credit cards for purchases of goods and services? What reasons did they give?

Don’t think ID theft can’t happen to you

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A recent report in Taiwan underlined how often personal and private information is often traded for less than $10 per name. In another recent story from the New York Times, a very successful businessman was systematically defrauded of $100,000 over a long period of time.

Identity theft is a serious and growing crime that inflicts serious damage on over 9 million people a year in the US alone. Identity theft can be placed on a par with break-in and robbery of an individual’s home in terms of psychological effects. The financial ramifications can be far more serious than the common burglary.

Identity theft involves the illegal use of a real person’s identity and financial standing to benefit an unscrupulous criminal. The Federal Trade Commission in the US says that over 40% of all complaints it receives relate the stolen personal and financial information.

Identity thieves use another person’s identity, to obtain credit in the form of credit cards, mortgages, store cards and every other conceivable line of credit. The average victim loses out to the June of over $6,000; some victims suffer much larger losses.

Financial identity theft is the act of stealing another person’s financial information such as bank records. This information is then used to obtain lines of credit and loans. They can also aid the criminal in obtaining forged checks, enabling them to raid the victims checking and savings accounts.

Identity cloning is slightly different in that it involves the duplication of the owner’s personal identity. The thief will then use the victim’s id to open bank accounts and lines of credit cards and mortgages. They may keep the assumed identity for long periods of time.

The thieves find their information through a multitude of ways including computer fraud. This can involve impersonating a large company or bank and asking the victim to sign in using their password to resolve some perceived problem with their account.

Less high-tech means of gaining information include rifling through trash to find credit card statements and other basic information gained from financial and non-financial correspondence.

To protect itself from these unscrupulous individuals and criminal gangs members of the public need to be constantly vigilant while online, avoiding giving away even minor personal information, as well as make sure that your computer isn’t infected by spyware or other vile forms of ~ware.

Shopping online, with companies that are not well known, is one particularly well exploited avenue for of obtaining all the information and ID thief needs.

Antivirus and firewall protection, combined with what is known as anti-phishing software and essential tools on all home computers.

To avoid ‘dumpster diving’ credit cards and other financial statements should be shredded before disposal. Credit cards and bank statements should be carefully checked for strange purchasers and other inconsistencies.

Any credit offer coming to the house in the form of junk mail should also be shredded as they often contain vital financial information. Within the home, personal and financial information should be hidden and safeguarded as if it were cash, and not just left out on the kitchen table.

Mail should be retrieved from the mail box as soon as possible to avoid theft of useful information. Unless you are very familiar with the company no credit card information, should have been given out over the phone.

Prevention is the best way to avoid this kind of crime: you should take as much care of your personal information as possible. Other times, though, vigilance may be your best bet to catch any wayward transactions.