Going for a Car Loan? 5 Factors to Consider First

Getting a car loan is both an exciting and slightly stressful time. It’s exciting because you’re that much closer to getting your new vehicle. However, it’s stressful because you’re borrowing money, which means you’ll have monthly payments to add to your budget.

There are ways that you can ease the stress of getting a car loan by preparing yourself beforehand. Many factors come into play when getting not just a car loan, but any loan. If you think about those before making a decision, it will help you in the long run.

Consider the following five factors before you sign for a car loan.

What is Your Monthly Budget?

The first and most important factors to consider is your budget. One of the first questions any dealership will ask you is what your budget is for getting a vehicle. Having a budget in mind will help keep you on track and determine what vehicle is most affordable.

Don’t just look at the vehicle as a monthly payment. You may find yourself biting off more than you can chew that way. Although only a couple hundred dollars a month seems reasonable, how long will your loan last for? You could end up paying thousands of dollars in interest rates, increasing the overall price of the vehicle.

What is Your Credit Score?

It’s a good idea to become familiar with your credit score. That is because if it’s too low, it could stop you from getting the loan you wanted, or a loan at all.

If a lender sees someone with a low credit score, to them, they are a risk of defaulting on their loan. A high credit score means you make your monthly payments on time. Not only that, a good credit score can help you negotiate better terms on your loan.

Shop Around for Car Loans

Just like you don’t buy the first car you see on the lot, you shouldn’t sign up for the first car loan presented to you. It’s essential that you spend time talking to multiple lenders so that you can compare car loan quotes.

Many Canadians walk into one dealership and assume that is all they need to do to get a fair car loan — but that doesn’t get you the best deal and you can even be outright turned down if you have bad or no credit,” says Sean Widdess, Vice President of NeedaLoan.ca. “That’s why you should go online where you can find services that will get you matched with a dealership near you that specializes in offering a variety of car loan options from multiple lenders. Doing that can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year on your loan and can be the difference between you being accepted or denied for an auto loan altogether if you don’t have great credit.”

Not every lender will come up with the same loan terms. One lender may have higher interest rates than the other, and one may have different stipulations compared to another. Speak with multiple lenders, whether it be the dealership or a bank, and get a few loan options.

Get Pre-approved

A pre-approval for a car loan means the lender will give you a certain dollar amount for your loan. You don’t quite have the loan yet. However, you’re almost there.

Getting a preapproval helps for a few reasons. To start, you know that you’ll be able to get the car loan. You wouldn’t want to shop for a vehicle, only to find out you can’t get the loan that you need to buy it.

Another reason for preapproval is that it helps give you an idea of what you can afford. That way, you can stay away from the vehicles outside of your price range and focus on what you can afford. Once you find a vehicle, take your pre-approval to your dealership to see if they can give you a better rate on the loan.

Have a Down Payment Ready

If you want to have the smallest loan possible for the shortest amount of time, a down payment will help with that. A down payment means you don’t need as large of a loan from the lender. So, you have fewer monthly payments to make, and less amount of interest to incur on your loan.

When the time comes to get a car loan, consider the above factors to help you out. Getting a loan with the best terms possible will help you save money every month.

How to take a Short Term Loan Online

The need for additional funds is something that you have most likely experienced at one time or another. Finding a reliable source offering this extra money is not always as easy as it sounds, however, so you need to know where to look. Identifying an online provider of these financial assistance services is a great option for your emergency needs.

A loan can be a big help when you’re short of money and still have basic needs to meet. This is not always a straightforward activity, however, as choosing the best source for such assistance can be complicated. In some cases, you might not qualify for the services offered by larger lending institutions as a result of your financial background. Other times the process involved with acquiring a loan is extensive and tedious, making you wonder if it’s even worth the effort. Most banks also exhibit high-interest rates with their various offerings. Finding a flexible online provider to cater to your needs might be just what you need in such a situation.

A variety of financial backing systems have emerged in the market to cater to the needs of smaller economical loans. You might not be interested in borrowing hundreds of thousands when you’re looking for a loan and might simply want a small amount to keep you going until your next payday. In most cases, the need for short term loans arises when you have to cater to an emergency such as school fees or hospital bills. Finding an established provider of such solutions like Loanski is an excellent option for small and midsize loans.

The Online Loan Application Process

One of the main attributes found with many flexible loan providers is their online presence. These companies usually have a website that allows you to conduct the application process from the comfort of your house. All you need is a stable connection and the various details necessary to answer a variety of questions. Some of these services don’t even require a face to face meeting, with the application, submission, and acceptance process all happening on their website.

Once your application has been approved, the money is generally sent to your bank account as soon as possible. Some established companies offer such reliable services that you can receive your money just 10 minutes after your application has been accepted. Of course, this quick delivery can only happen with cases where the transaction has taken place without a glitch – and all the details submitted on your application form are easily verifiable. It’s crucial to ensure that you offer the correct information when applying for a loan to enhance your chances of success.

Some of the various details you will have to fill during the application process include your full name, contacts and address, the amount of money you would want, the preferred length of the loan, and method of payment to name a few. These details are stored within a highly secure part of the provider’s website to ensure that potential hackers retrieve your sensitive information. The delicate questions asked during this process are designed to determine your inherent capability of paying back the loan.

Understand Car Financing and Get the Car You Have Always Wanted

If you are considering buying a car, then you know the first thing that comes to mind is how much the car will cost. Cars can be a significant investment, depending on the model you plan to purchase, so careful planning is necessary. Buying cars from a new car dealership means that you may have to spend more money for the vehicle you like. If you do not have enough money, then you should consider car financing in order to reach your goal and get that car. Car financing includes many factors, which makes it a bit hard to quantify. There are many things involved, including the price and the type of car you intend to buy. However, there are different packages available so you should check out a few options first before picking the best one for you.  

Which Course to Take for Car Financing

Car financing involves several things and many people do not have the proper knowledge about it. There is a lot of paperwork involved and you may be overwhelmed if you do not know where to start. You need to be a financial expert in order to understand everything it involves, so it is better to leave the details to someone skilled and knowledgeable in that matter. That is where car finance brokers come into the picture. You should always use the services of a car finance broker, because they can assist you in everything you need to get your financing. They will take care of all the formalities for you, so you can secure the car loan you need.

You do not have to use the services of a broker if you do not want to, but there are benefits in doing so. For example, it is a great option for people that are self-employed. Most self-employed people cannot provide good profit figures or documentation to meet the requirements of the financial providers. However, if you use the services of a car financing broker, he will be able to find financial institutions that can offer you great terms for car financing. They can also negotiate various deals on your behalf, so you would have nothing to worry about.

If you do not want to use services of a car financing broker, then you can get car financing online. If you use this option, you can go online and check the terms of different financial institutions to see what they offer. You should carefully read all terms and requirements in order to get a clear picture of what kind of deal you will get into. Fortunately, you have many online tools available that can help you get a good perspective and proper understanding about the various options. There are some pretty good car finance calculators with which you can calculate how much you will be paying for the car each month and how long will it take to repay the car loan.

Best Payment Processors for International Businesses

There are several payment methods available at your disposal for international businesses. So, how to you decide which is the best payment option to use for your payment processing? While most payment processors these days allow you to capture payments from across the globe, some do have extra features. It’s a good idea to make sure the payment processor you are using allows payments from all countries and converts the funds for you automatically in real-time.

What is a payment processor?

A payment processor is a bridge between the two clients or two money exchanging authorities who handle the transaction. They handle the monitory transaction by collecting information from banks or credit cards and then depositing and crediting the money in the account of the second party. The traditional process consists of the following:

  • The customer or someone who pays the money
  • The merchant or the authority where money has to be deposited
  • The payment processor which handles the above transaction
  • A secured server through which your bank details are protected
  • Credit/debit card of the bank or company from which payment has to be processed
  • The business bank

There are several parties and authorities involved in the processing of an international payment, which is why you should choose the right gateway. Here are the most common options to consider.

PayPal

This is by far one of the most used and widely trusted payment processors for any sort of payment. They are the premier payment option available in more than 200 countries, covering the complete globe. PayPal handles 26 different currencies and the name alone gives customers instant trust.

“PayPal is a trusted name, and if you are dealing with international customers there is a good chance they have never heard of your business before. By using PayPal they know their information is safe and the purchase is protected. It’s a great processor to use to give you instant credibility,” says Dana VanDeCar, COO of Optimally Organic.

Due

The feature that has made this payment processor popular is their end to end service. They will complete your entire billing processes, the handling of the invoice to payment collection. This service is very appealing for freelancers, small-scale businesses and companies working with international clients.

Other services that are offered by this option is time tracking, schedule management, automatic invoice generation, etc. The unique feature about this gateway is that you can choose invoice options in more than 100 languages, which make it a great international option.

Stripe

If you talk about one payment processor that can meet all payment requirements, Stripe is the leader of the category. This payment option is developed with simplicity in mind. Users can get set up and start accepting credit cards within minutes.

For this service, they charge a fees of 2.9% of the transaction and 30 cents per transaction. “The great thing about Stripe is that it integrates with almost every CRM and online tool you could imagine. No matter what invoicing program you use or customer management tool, you can be certain that Strip will plug right in,” says Darryl Howard of NuWays MD, a medical spa in Boca Raton.

Square

This gives you the ability to convert your phone into a payment processor, which is great for those on the go and not tied to a physical or e-commerce store. This is possible with their magstripe reader and contactless chip reader, which turns your phone into payment processor. This will enable you to accept payments on the move at any place and at any time in-person.

“Not only are transaction rates generally lower when you physically swipe the card, but the risk of fraud decreases tremendously as well. If you have the ability to take cards in person, Square is a great option,” says Luqman Khan, founder of Wireloo, a website that just announced the best grill pan 2018 award.

BitPay

As the name suggests, this international payment processor is used for accepting bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments. They also give you the option to convert your bitcoins into 9 different types of currency in 38 different countries.

“With the popularity of cryptocurrency internationally, this is a processor to consider if you have a customer base that is adamant on using the currency,” says Jake Braun of ChopperExchange, a website that helps you determine what is your Harley worth. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are very shaky right now, so more traditional payment gateways are the way to go right now.

A Guide To Money Counting Machines And How They Detect Counterfeit Bills

The majority of banks and companies are constantly searching for counterfeit currency.  Unfortunately, the volume of counterfeit bills available makes it impossible to check the currency by hand, and make fake bills will pass by undetected.  Luckily, various security features can be implemented into the manufacturing and printing of modern paper currency. In today’s society, money counting machines employ numerous counterfeit detection technologies to effectively identify counterfeit bills before they can enter the financial economy.  This article will discuss the three most popular money counting machines detecting counterfeit bills.

  1.  The Ultraviolet Detection Machine

The majority of countries nowadays, including Canada, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom, utilize inks containing ultraviolet fluorescent phosphors when printing paper currency.  For example, all paper currency in the US contains a vertical florescent stripe that is invisible to a person’s eye; however, it will glow brightly when placed under ultraviolet light. The UV light is one of the most commonplace options to detect counterfeit currency.  It is utilized in money counting machines because of its affordability, simplicity, and effectiveness. Replicating these UV features is complicated, but it is not impossible; therefore, while UV lights are excellent detection method they cannot be considered 100% effective for counterfeit bill detection.

  1.  The Magnetic Detection Option

In addition to the ultraviolet detection machine, the majority of nations introduce the use of magnetic inks in paper bills.  The money counting machines equipped with magnetic detection scan each of the bills for the magnetic elements in the iron particles of the ink dye.  Similar to ultraviolet, magnetic detection is effective; however, it does have certain disadvantages.  Certain counterfeiters have identified methods of utilizing magnetic ink printers to fool these detectors.  Furthermore, the magnetic elements in the currency can degrade over time with constant usage; thereby, resulting in real currency being identified as counterfeit.

  1.  The Infrared Detection

Not as common as the above types of counterfeit currency detection techniques, the infrared detection option involves the use of infrared inks that are extremely complicated for counterfeiters to replicate in bills.  Bills printed with infrared inks can reflect or absorb the infrared light; however, a coin counter machine with infrared technology will utilize sensors that detect the presence of these inks allowing the machine to identify counterfeit currency from legitimate bills.  

The less commonly used currency security technology used to detect counterfeit currency is color-image sensing, infrared thickness technology, watermarks, metal thread coding, paper composition, and various other methods.  For many companies, however, the utilization of three or more of these detection methods will prove to be both cost-effective and highly effective.

3 Tips for Getting Quality Motorcycle Insurance Without Breaking The Bank

To legally be on the road, you have to have insurance for your vehicle. And while insurance can be more or less expensive depending on where you live, it can also be more or less expensive depending on what type of vehicle you’re driving. Generally, riding a motorcycle can cause you to have higher insurance rates that driving just your average car because it’s considered to be more dangerous and puts you at higher risk. So to help you be able to get the motorcycle insurance you need without having to spend an arm and a leg every month or year, here are three tips for getting quality motorcycle insurance without breaking the bank.

Take A Motorcycle Training Course

To help reduce your costs and to keep you safer when on the road, DMV.org recommends enrolling in some type of motorcycle training course before you apply for motorcycle insurance. In these courses, you’ll learn how to safely ride your motorcycle on the road, which may make your insurance carrier see you as less of a risk to insure. Keep in mind, however, that many insurances will only give you this benefit once every few years, so you might want to keep going to these courses regularly if you’re wanting to keep these benefits as an insurance discount.

Keep Your Bike Safe

In addition to making sure that you’re always safe when you’re riding your motorcycle, it’s also important that you know how to keep your bike safe when you’re not on it. Especially if you’re wanting to get insurance coverage for if your bike gets stolen, you’re going to want to show your insurance carrier that you’ve been doing everything in your power to keep your bike safe. To help with this, Bobbie Sage, a contributor to The Balance, advises that you share with your insurance carrier that you park your bike somewhere safe when you’re not riding it, like a garage. You might also want to get an alarm to help you further secure your bike when it’s parked.

Join An Association

According to NerdWallet.com, joining a motorcycle riders organization may also be a way for you to get some savings on your motorcycle insurance. There are quite a few different organizations out there for you to join if you’re a motorcycle rider, so do some research about what organization might fit best for you and what’s going to be approved with your insurance provider. And once you find one that fits both requirements, join so that you can save yourself some money as well as make a few friends in the process.

If you’ll soon be getting a motorcycle and will be needing insurance, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to save a little money on this purchase.

How Social Payments Are Transforming Financial Transactions As We Know Them

In honor of arrival of the Year of the Dog in February, I sent my nephew in China a gift of money through a chat app on my phone. He pocketed it happily, using the same app to express his appreciation, thanks and best wishes back at me for the new year.

It was another day, another dollar, as they say, or the everyday sort of transaction that people in some countries like China don’t think twice about. For people in most Western nations, though, this sort of payment system is still something of a curiosity.

That’s changing fast, though. And as the social sharing economy continues to evolve, look for such peer-to-peer transactions over people’s social feeds to become the norm. It quite possibly may disrupt the traditional banking system as we know it.

Venmo, PayPal’s free digital wallet, was an early player in Western economies, launched in 2009, but really taking off in 2014 as Android Pay and Apple Pay made their much vaunted debuts. Other entries since – Facebook Pay, Google Wallet, Square Cash – speak to a concept whose time has come. Case in point: Venmo handled $17.6 billion in transactions in 2016; that almost doubled to $34.2 billion last year.

If there’s a model for the rest of the world to follow, it’s China’s. Its system was a response in a country that had no credit card use, and whose banks were inefficient and underused. In less than 10 years, two rival payment services, Tencent’s WeChat and Alibaba’s Alipay, have transformed China’s financial ecosystem by making mobile payments – especially social mobile payments – an easy and accessible option.

As social payments continue to catch on in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and other nations, it’s moving us ever closer to becoming cashless economies. In fact, Sweden may be an example today of how we’ll all be operating in the not-to-distant future. A mere 1 percent of the value of all payments made in Sweden are in coins or notes. Its citizens live for their bank cards, but over half Sweden’s population depends on the leading social payment smartphone app, Swish.

It’s not just the world’s more privileged societies that stand to benefit from this evolving financial ecosystem. Social payments stand to bring much needed financial services to countries with significant populations of unbanked or underbanked people. Financial inclusion, of course, is key to lifting them from poverty.

Even if traditional banking services aren’t available to such populations, mobile phones increasingly are. Their pace of adoption is on a positive trendline, at 37 percent of the populations of underdeveloped economies.

Not surprisingly, both Tencent and Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial (formerly known as Alipay) see an opportunity to make inroads in countries where people may be unbanked, but not unphoned. Both are moving aggressively in Southeast Asia as part of that quest; at the end of last year, the Alipay service reportedly had 280 million users of its four local payment platforms in Thailand, India, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

The sharing economy is real and expanding rapidly. By 2025, a PricewaterhouseCoopers study found, spending in the five components that comprise it (travel, car sharing, staffing, streaming and, no surprise, finance) may hit $335 billion – or half of total spending in those areas.

It’s not just social payments that will help to reshape the financial sector. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will be another facet, a means for settling payments directly and without much hassle or effort.

Either way, though, if this new social order we’re developing can advance those who currently have no access to things the rest of us take for granted like financial services, then it’s all to the good.

Finding a Solution for ‘Unbankability’ through Blockchain

TORONTOFeb. 28, 2018 /CNW/ – A Change.org petition has been launched by Toronto’s Bo Zou as a means of securing buy-in and, ultimately, funding to counter an issue that plays a significant role in global poverty: a lack of access to banking services.

“Financial inclusion is critical in order to reduce poverty,” says Bo Zou, a specialist in customer experience strategy and design who has worked extensively in financial services. “This shouldn’t be happening in the 21st century. But technology may pave the way to effecting change.”

Lack of access to banking services puts the gap between the world’s haves and have-nots in sharp distinction, Zou points out. Most adults (94 percent) in OECD high income countries have bank accounts, but only 54 percent in developing countries do, with the lowest proportion in the Middle East at 14 percent, according to World Bank data.

The outcome is a reduced capacity for saving to create a cushion to help finance an education, business or home.

Read the full press release HERE.

How to get the best foreign exchange rates for your business

If you carry out business transactions with countries other than your own, you’ve probably come across the phenomenon of exchange rates. You are likely to have had to deal with small losses when converting from one currency to another, and sometimes it’s just a fact of life. But luckily, there are ways to deal with the problem. So, what exactly are exchange rates, and how can you find the best deals?

Understand how they work

Before you can hunt out the best rates and get good deals as part of your financial planning, you need to understand how the exchange rate mechanisms work. Firstly, it’s important to remember that governments around the world often take actions that affect their currency exchange rate. In addition, factors outside the immediate control of governments also cause movements in rates. For example, the exchange rate a country’s currency has against other currencies is linked to the rate of inflation in the country, as well as interest rates and unemployment figures.

Keep an eye on the news

Once you get a feel for what factors can affect exchange rates, you’ll be able to pinpoint times when they’ll work in your favor. Ideally, you will be able to time your transactions so that they occur at those times. For example, if you’re aware that there’s a push on domestic exports at the moment then there’s a good chance exchange rates will be lower – and if that benefits you, it may be time to strike.

Use an online resource

As foreign exchange rates are constantly fluctuating, you will need an up-to-date guide that helps you to pinpoint the exact figures you want to transfer. A currency’s valuation is determined by how much money is flowing in and out of a country, and there will be a matrix of socio-economic factors impacting on rates. With Brexit making its mark in the UK, the pound sterling is a great example of a dominant currency undergoing volatile changes. So, to obtain a favorable exchange rate for a US to UK money transfer in the current climate, it’s wise to use a reliable online foreign exchange resource.

Manage risk

Whatever happens, foreign exchange rates are likely to provide some uncertainty for your business. Nobody knows what’s around the next corner, but everybody can plan to cover themselves whatever comes their way. For that reason, why not set a budget at the start of the year to cover foreign exchange fees? By setting aside enough cash to cover the worst-case scenario, you’ll be able to relax safe in the knowledge that you’ve planned for the fees – and if rates turn out to be better, you’ll have a nice cash injection for your business once the year has ended.

Even if you’re a business-savvy person running a successful company, exchange rates can still seem complex and intimidating. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can work this mechanism to your advantage when carrying out business transactions: with a bit of strategy and knowledge on your side, you’ll be able to find the best deals and secure attractive rates.

RRSP's

RRSP.ORG Registered Retirement Savings Plan

Registered Retirement Savings Plan – RRSP.ORG the original website that best describes everything you wanted to know about Canadian registered plans and schemes has taken a turn for the best. The information and knowledge base on RRSP.ORG is more than ready for change and a complete overhaul.

MONEY.CA the leading Canadian money and personal finance website has acquired the aging website for all the right reasons. RRSP is just one of many keyword subject sites that most of Canada wants and needs. For over 20 years this small and meaningful site providing news and information in the world of Registered plans for Canadians has now been taken over by people who know and care dearly about the subject matter and the benefits and advantages it brings to Canadian’s, the government and the country as a whole.

Look forward to the changes and updates as Canadian financial consumers will learn how to make, save and preserve more of their hard earned wealth. The advisor channel is more than welcome to contribute news, information, stories and articles that make sense and pays dividends to the average Canadian.