Small Business Third Party Tools

Starting your business is a feat in its own right, but you don’t have to do it all on your own; there are numerous third-party tools that can help you. Here are just a few of the hundreds of resources that can help improve your website, communicate with customers and streamline your daily business operations.

Website

Olark: Add a live-chat feature to your website and connect with users as they navigate your page. Learn information and analytics about who your customers are and how they interact with your site.

Key features: See who’s on your site, what they’re looking at and how long they’ve been there.

Intercom: Connect with your website’s users through in-app messages and optimized emails. Learn about your customers through a live database.

Key features: Collaborate with your colleagues using a team inbox that lets multiple people in your company respond to customers.

Hello Bar: Create banners for your company’s website to draw users’ attention to various campaigns or features on your site. Use the banner to promote sales, newsletters, blog posts, social media profiles and more.

Key features: Customize the banners to fit your site’s unique aesthetic.

Communication

MailChimp: Manage your email contacts and send targeted messages to thousands of customers at optimized times. Review each email campaign with reports of open and click rates, and track trends over time.

Key features: See profiles of your email subscribers, send automated emails and get recommendations about the best times to send emails.

Cloud Phone: Conduct company calling through your smartphone. Connect multiple devices to local or toll-free phone numbers so everyone in your business can access the platform.

Key features: Get transcribed voicemails sent to your email inbox, use the auto attendant feature to greet customers and direct them to various lines.

Rapportive: A Gmail plug-in that lets you see information about your email contacts including their photo, company, location, LinkedIn profile and shared connections.

Key features: Make LinkedIn connections through your Gmail window.

Social media

Buffer: Schedule posts for your company’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ accounts. Analyze your posts to see how many clicks, retweets or likes they got, and track the growth of your followers over time.

Key features: Use it directly from Facebook and Twitter with special Buffer buttons built into those networks.

Hootsuite: Manage your accounts from social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. Schedule posts, monitor conversations about trending topics that you care about, and get real-time analytics about your social media activity.

Key features: Give multiple team members access so you can collaborate to manage your social media presence.

Finances

Freshbooks: Take care of your business accounting with this cloud-based tool. Create and send custom invoices, track expenses, record time spent and get reports about your earnings.

Key features: Accept credit card, PayPal, cash or check payments from your customers.

Wave: Do your company’s payroll, invoices and bookkeeping in one place with this cloud-based tool. Keep track of your personal budget and investments too.

Key features: Accept credit card payments from your clients and send invoices using your mobile device

Recruiting

Greenhouse: Recruiting software helps you find talent, get referrals, create interview plans, communicate with candidates, evaluate potential employees and make a final decision.

Key features: An application review tool helps with screening. Analyze your hiring campaigns to determine what works and what doesn’t.

ZipRecruiter: Write a job description once and post it to dozens of job boards to spread the word about openings at your company. Access a free résumé database to screen thousands of candidates.

Key feature: Add a job page to your own website with a simple widget; no coding required.

---

Business owner image via Shutterstock.

Source Article :http://bit.ly/1x67u6E

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How to Build Credit If You Have a Small Income

Building and maintaining a good credit score is one of the best moves you can make for your financial health.

It might seem intimidating at first – our credit scoring system is definitely complex – but when it comes time to apply for a mortgage, you’ll be happy you made building a solid score a priority.

But how does the picture change if you make a small income? As it turns out, not much. You don’t need to be a Rockefeller to achieve good credit. Take a look at the details below to learn how to build a great score, no matter how large or small your paycheck is.

First, know what makes a good score

Before digging into specific recommendations, it’s important to understand the factors that affect your credit score. The FICO scoring model – which is the most widely used credit scoring system in the United States today – takes a lot of variables into account to create your score. These include:

• Payment history


• Amounts owed


• Length of credit history


• Mix of credit accounts


• Recent credit inquiries

You’ll notice that income is not one of the factors used to determine your FICO score. This means that earning a big salary doesn’t equate to earning a high credit score. Even if you have a small income, you can succeed at scoring high, as long as you’re using the right strategies.

Obtaining credit is an important first step

It’s empowering to know that the steps to good credit are about financial behaviors, not the size of your bank balance. But what exactly should you be doing to get there?

Above all, it’s important to start using a credit account responsibly as soon as you can. Proving to potential lenders that you can be trusted with borrowed money is the best way to start building your credit momentum. One of the easiest ways to do this is with a credit card.

If you’re not earning much money, you might be shying away from plastic to avoid the temptation to overspend. But this will only stall your efforts to build good credit.

However, if your earnings are limited, you might run into an obstacle: According to the CARD Act of 2009, credit card issuers must verify a customer’s ability to pay before approving his or her application. If you’re having a hard time qualifying for an unsecured card because of your income, consider a secured credit card instead. You’ll have to make a deposit to get the card, but every time you use it, you’re tapping a credit line.

This means that your issuer is likely reporting your payment history to the credit bureaus. Assuming you’re responsible, this will help build your credit over time. If you’re not interested in getting a credit card, obtaining another type of loan to establish a credit history is a good idea.

Again, you might have trouble getting approved if your income falls below the lender’s requirements. In this case, offering a big down payment or securing a cosigner might help you qualify.

Keep up with good habits

Once you’ve gained access to credit, keeping up with good habits is essential to building your score further. Specifically, you should focus on a few important behaviors.

Anthony Sprauve, a senior consumer credit specialist at FICO, emphasized that: “The two most important factors it [the FICO score] looks at are:

• Payment history – Is the consumer making the minimum payment required on time every time? This accounts for 35 percent of the FICO Score.


• Credit Utilization – Is the consumer keeping the balances on their revolving credit (typically credit cards) below 30 percent of their available credit? This accounts for 30 percent of the FICO Score.

“A consumer can have … a high FICO Score if they are following these two guidelines closely.”

In short, paying your bills on time and in full are the two most powerful things you can do to create and hold onto a good credit score. If you follow through with both of these guidelines throughout your life as a credit user, you’re likely going to wind up with a great score.

And just to be clear: Neither requires a big income. Spend and borrow within your means, and it will be a piece of cake to manage your payments properly. This, in turn, will put you on the path to a stellar score.

The takeaway: Folks with small incomes have the same opportunity as their high-earning counterparts to build good credit. Use the tips above to get started today!

Woman with small piggy bank image via Shutterstock

Source Article http://ift.tt/1y39EC7

Read More

How to Build Credit If You Have a Small Income

Building and maintaining a good credit score is one of the best moves you can make for your financial health.

It might seem intimidating at first – our credit scoring system is definitely complex – but when it comes time to apply for a mortgage, you’ll be happy you made building a solid score a priority.

But how does the picture change if you make a small income? As it turns out, not much. You don’t need to be a Rockefeller to achieve good credit. Take a look at the details below to learn how to build a great score, no matter how large or small your paycheck is.

First, know what makes a good score

Before digging into specific recommendations, it’s important to understand the factors that affect your credit score. The FICO scoring model – which is the most widely used credit scoring system in the United States today – takes a lot of variables into account to create your score. These include:

• Payment history


• Amounts owed


• Length of credit history


• Mix of credit accounts


• Recent credit inquiries

You’ll notice that income is not one of the factors used to determine your FICO score. This means that earning a big salary doesn’t equate to earning a high credit score. Even if you have a small income, you can succeed at scoring high, as long as you’re using the right strategies.

Obtaining credit is an important first step

It’s empowering to know that the steps to good credit are about financial behaviors, not the size of your bank balance. But what exactly should you be doing to get there?

Above all, it’s important to start using a credit account responsibly as soon as you can. Proving to potential lenders that you can be trusted with borrowed money is the best way to start building your credit momentum. One of the easiest ways to do this is with a credit card.

If you’re not earning much money, you might be shying away from plastic to avoid the temptation to overspend. But this will only stall your efforts to build good credit.

However, if your earnings are limited, you might run into an obstacle: According to the CARD Act of 2009, credit card issuers must verify a customer’s ability to pay before approving his or her application. If you’re having a hard time qualifying for an unsecured card because of your income, consider a secured credit card instead. You’ll have to make a deposit to get the card, but every time you use it, you’re tapping a credit line.

This means that your issuer is likely reporting your payment history to the credit bureaus. Assuming you’re responsible, this will help build your credit over time. If you’re not interested in getting a credit card, obtaining another type of loan to establish a credit history is a good idea.

Again, you might have trouble getting approved if your income falls below the lender’s requirements. In this case, offering a big down payment or securing a cosigner might help you qualify.

Keep up with good habits

Once you’ve gained access to credit, keeping up with good habits is essential to building your score further. Specifically, you should focus on a few important behaviors.

Anthony Sprauve, a senior consumer credit specialist at FICO, emphasized that: “The two most important factors it [the FICO score] looks at are:

• Payment history – Is the consumer making the minimum payment required on time every time? This accounts for 35 percent of the FICO Score.


• Credit Utilization – Is the consumer keeping the balances on their revolving credit (typically credit cards) below 30 percent of their available credit? This accounts for 30 percent of the FICO Score.

“A consumer can have … a high FICO Score if they are following these two guidelines closely.”

In short, paying your bills on time and in full are the two most powerful things you can do to create and hold onto a good credit score. If you follow through with both of these guidelines throughout your life as a credit user, you’re likely going to wind up with a great score.

And just to be clear: Neither requires a big income. Spend and borrow within your means, and it will be a piece of cake to manage your payments properly. This, in turn, will put you on the path to a stellar score.

The takeaway: Folks with small incomes have the same opportunity as their high-earning counterparts to build good credit. Use the tips above to get started today!

Woman with small piggy bank image via Shutterstock

Source Article :http://bit.ly/XOfE4h

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Travel Credit Card Showdown: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Barclaycard Arrival Plus

With all the travel credit cards on the market today, it’s easy to see why two of the most popular are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®. After all, both cards offer a slew of benefits that globetrotters value.

If you’re looking for a credit card to carry you around the world, you’ve probably done a lot of research that’s left you wondering: Which of these two should I apply for? To help you decide, the Nerds compared the cards on a variety of metrics. We’ll do a deep dive into how we did our assessment, but let’s start by taking a look at the basics:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®
Apply Now on Chase's secure website starstarstarstarstar	Apply Now on Barclays's secure website starstarstarstarstar
Signing Promo
Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.	Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening.
Intro APR Promo
Purchase: None Bal Trans: None	Purchase: None Bal Trans: None
Annual fee
Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95.	$89 - Waived first year
Details
Earn 40,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $500 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate RewardsSM. Earn 5,000 bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening. 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases No foreign transaction fees, plus Chip and Signature enabled for international travel. 1:1 point transfer to leading frequent travel programs at full value — that means 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points equal 1,000 partner miles/points. 24/7 direct access to dedicated customer service specialists Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95	Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days — that's enough to redeem for a $400 travel statement credit Earn 2X miles on all purchases Miles don't expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing Chip card for increased confidence and convenience to pay abroad as easily as you do at home Book the travel you want — airfare, hotels, cruises and more and earn miles on your purchase Get 10% miles back to use toward your next redemption every time you redeem for travel statement credits No foreign transaction fees on anything you buy while in another country Complimentary online FICO® Score access for Barclaycard Arrival cardmembers

Now it’s time to put the basic features of each card under the microscope. To do our evaluation, we carefully analyzed the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® in terms of signup bonus, fees and acceptance, and earning and redeeming. Let’s dig in!

Signup bonus

Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Apply Now

on Chase's

secure website

Welcoming new card members with a hefty signup bonus is something that both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® specialize in. But the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s welcome is just a little bit sweeter: Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. Assuming you redeem those bonus points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, each one is worth 1.25 cents apiece. This works out to $500 toward your next trip.

Don’t get us wrong – the signup bonus offered by the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is certainly nothing to sneeze at. You’ll Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. Since each mile is worth 1.1 cents when redeemed for travel, your bonus is worth $440. This is certainly sizeable, but the numbers don’t lie: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card wins out.

Fees and acceptance

Winner: Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®

Apply Now

on Barclays's

secure website

When it comes to fees and acceptance, the winner was a little less clear. Since both cards don’t charge a foreign transaction fee, neither was able to pull ahead – they’re both equally enticing on that front. But in terms of annual fees, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is slightly cheaper. It charges $89 - Waived first year. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card charges an Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95. A very small difference to be sure, but again, the numbers don’t lie.

When it comes to international acceptance, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® also has a slight edge. To be clear, we’re not talking about network acceptance – the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a Visa and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is a MasterCard, which means that both will be welcomed at most international retailers. We’re referring to overseas acceptance with regard to EMV (or “chip”) technology.

Although both cards come chip-enabled, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is also chip-and-PIN capable. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card only offers a chip-and-signature option. In most cases, this is more than adequate. But some European merchants (particularly kiosks at train stations) will only take chip-and-PIN cards. To ensure acceptance everywhere you travel, you’re better off opting for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®.

Earning and redeeming

Winner: Tie

There was no way to choose a clear winner when it comes to earning and redeeming. Both cards have a lot to offer, and each meets the needs of a different type of traveler.

Let’s start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. With this card, you’ll earn 2 points for every dollar you spend on dining in restaurants and travel, and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Generally, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points are worth one cent apiece. However, as we mentioned earlier, they’re worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This drives the value of each point up to 1.25 cents.

When it comes time to cash in your rewards, you can use Chase’s Kayak-like portal to book a trip and score the 25% value boost on each point, or you can transfer them to a participating frequent traveler loyalty program at a 1:1 ratio. This is where things can get really lucrative; if you’re skilled at wringing a lot of value out of frequent flyer miles, you could get a value of substantially more than 1 or 1.25 cents per point.

With the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®, you’ll earn 2 miles for every dollar you spend. Each mile is worth $.01, but since you get 10% of your points back when you redeem them for travel, you’re really getting a rewards rate of 2.2% with this card.

Speaking of redemption, your options are a little broader than with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You’ll be able to book your travel as you normally would, then go online and redeem your miles in the form of a statement credit. This tends to appeal to folks who like to shop around for the best deal on their flight or hotel stay, while still being able to use their rewards. For these travelers, being stuck with a finite set of airlines or hotel chains to choose from feels limiting.

The verdict

Before giving the final verdict, the Nerds want to emphasize again that both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® are stellar choices in the travel credit card category. No matter which you choose, you really can’t go wrong.

With that being said, we generally think the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is better for sophisticated travel hackers who have a lot of experience with getting the best deals on frequent flyer award seats. Also, if you tend to do most of your spending on dining and travel, you’ll be able to easily rack up serious rewards and get a lot of value out of this card.

On the other hand, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is a better pick for budget travelers who like to scour the web for the best prices on flights and hotels, and who frequently book through discount travel sites. It’s also a good choice for people who like the simplicity of earning a high, flat rewards rate on all their spending.

So there you have it, vagabonds! Bon voyage, and be sure to check back often with the Nerds – we’ll keep you up-to-date on all the latest news in the world of travel credit cards.

Booking travel with credit card image via Shutterstock

Source Article http://ift.tt/1y39EC7

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Travel Credit Card Showdown: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Barclaycard Arrival Plus

With all the travel credit cards on the market today, it’s easy to see why two of the most popular are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®. After all, both cards offer a slew of benefits that globetrotters value.

If you’re looking for a credit card to carry you around the world, you’ve probably done a lot of research that’s left you wondering: Which of these two should I apply for? To help you decide, the Nerds compared the cards on a variety of metrics. We’ll do a deep dive into how we did our assessment, but let’s start by taking a look at the basics:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®
Apply Now on Chase's secure website starstarstarstarstar	Apply Now on Barclays's secure website starstarstarstarstar
Signing Promo
Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.	Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening.
Intro APR Promo
Purchase: None Bal Trans: None	Purchase: None Bal Trans: None
Annual fee
Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95.	$89 - Waived first year
Details
Earn 40,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $500 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate RewardsSM. Earn 5,000 bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening. 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases No foreign transaction fees, plus Chip and Signature enabled for international travel. 1:1 point transfer to leading frequent travel programs at full value — that means 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points equal 1,000 partner miles/points. 24/7 direct access to dedicated customer service specialists Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95	Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days — that's enough to redeem for a $400 travel statement credit Earn 2X miles on all purchases Miles don't expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing Chip card for increased confidence and convenience to pay abroad as easily as you do at home Book the travel you want — airfare, hotels, cruises and more and earn miles on your purchase Get 10% miles back to use toward your next redemption every time you redeem for travel statement credits No foreign transaction fees on anything you buy while in another country Complimentary online FICO® Score access for Barclaycard Arrival cardmembers

Now it’s time to put the basic features of each card under the microscope. To do our evaluation, we carefully analyzed the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® in terms of signup bonus, fees and acceptance, and earning and redeeming. Let’s dig in!

Signup bonus

Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Apply Now

on Chase's

secure website

Welcoming new card members with a hefty signup bonus is something that both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® specialize in. But the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s welcome is just a little bit sweeter: Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. Assuming you redeem those bonus points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, each one is worth 1.25 cents apiece. This works out to $500 toward your next trip.

Don’t get us wrong – the signup bonus offered by the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is certainly nothing to sneeze at. You’ll Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. Since each mile is worth 1.1 cents when redeemed for travel, your bonus is worth $440. This is certainly sizeable, but the numbers don’t lie: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card wins out.

Fees and acceptance

Winner: Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®

Apply Now

on Barclays's

secure website

When it comes to fees and acceptance, the winner was a little less clear. Since both cards don’t charge a foreign transaction fee, neither was able to pull ahead – they’re both equally enticing on that front. But in terms of annual fees, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is slightly cheaper. It charges $89 - Waived first year. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card charges an Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95. A very small difference to be sure, but again, the numbers don’t lie.

When it comes to international acceptance, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® also has a slight edge. To be clear, we’re not talking about network acceptance – the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a Visa and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is a MasterCard, which means that both will be welcomed at most international retailers. We’re referring to overseas acceptance with regard to EMV (or “chip”) technology.

Although both cards come chip-enabled, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is also chip-and-PIN capable. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card only offers a chip-and-signature option. In most cases, this is more than adequate. But some European merchants (particularly kiosks at train stations) will only take chip-and-PIN cards. To ensure acceptance everywhere you travel, you’re better off opting for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®.

Earning and redeeming

Winner: Tie

There was no way to choose a clear winner when it comes to earning and redeeming. Both cards have a lot to offer, and each meets the needs of a different type of traveler.

Let’s start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. With this card, you’ll earn 2 points for every dollar you spend on dining in restaurants and travel, and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Generally, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points are worth one cent apiece. However, as we mentioned earlier, they’re worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This drives the value of each point up to 1.25 cents.

When it comes time to cash in your rewards, you can use Chase’s Kayak-like portal to book a trip and score the 25% value boost on each point, or you can transfer them to a participating frequent traveler loyalty program at a 1:1 ratio. This is where things can get really lucrative; if you’re skilled at wringing a lot of value out of frequent flyer miles, you could get a value of substantially more than 1 or 1.25 cents per point.

With the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®, you’ll earn 2 miles for every dollar you spend. Each mile is worth $.01, but since you get 10% of your points back when you redeem them for travel, you’re really getting a rewards rate of 2.2% with this card.

Speaking of redemption, your options are a little broader than with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You’ll be able to book your travel as you normally would, then go online and redeem your miles in the form of a statement credit. This tends to appeal to folks who like to shop around for the best deal on their flight or hotel stay, while still being able to use their rewards. For these travelers, being stuck with a finite set of airlines or hotel chains to choose from feels limiting.

The verdict

Before giving the final verdict, the Nerds want to emphasize again that both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® are stellar choices in the travel credit card category. No matter which you choose, you really can’t go wrong.

With that being said, we generally think the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is better for sophisticated travel hackers who have a lot of experience with getting the best deals on frequent flyer award seats. Also, if you tend to do most of your spending on dining and travel, you’ll be able to easily rack up serious rewards and get a lot of value out of this card.

On the other hand, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is a better pick for budget travelers who like to scour the web for the best prices on flights and hotels, and who frequently book through discount travel sites. It’s also a good choice for people who like the simplicity of earning a high, flat rewards rate on all their spending.

So there you have it, vagabonds! Bon voyage, and be sure to check back often with the Nerds – we’ll keep you up-to-date on all the latest news in the world of travel credit cards.

Booking travel with credit card image via Shutterstock

Source Article :http://bit.ly/XAkz96

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Amazon Closes Wallet on WebPay, Setting Oct. 13 Kill Date

Users of Amazon’s free WebPay peer-to-peer (P2P) payments system got some bad news recently – the service will shut down Oct. 13.

You can still make payments through it until that date, and recipients will have 30 days after that to collect any money sent to them before it will revert to the sender, Amazon said on its site. The Seattle company advised registered payments services users of the change in an annual notice distributed Sept. 10, according to postings on various websites.

“We are not addressing a customer pain point particularly better than anyone else,” the company said on its site in a section that explains how WebPay works. “We’ve learned a great deal about how and when customers want to send money and will look for ways to use these lessons in the future.”

Low impact

Amazon has offered the fee-free service, widely viewed as part of a campaign to challenge eBay’s PayPal unit in online financial services, for at least four years. Its ending gathered scant notice, however, which may indicate how little impact it had on the burgeoning market.

Users are able to send digital cash to anyone by email, using only a credit card or their Amazon account. Because it can be characterized as a payment by the sender and as cash by the recipient, transactions typically don’t cost either party anything.

Starting Oct. 13, registered users of Amazon Payments will no longer see the WebPay option when they sign on to their accounts, the company says. Users can still obtain a history of their transactions through the service after that date.

Alternatives to consider

WebPay is one of a few free P2P payment systems available to consumers. Square offers the service without charge and no membership is required, but only debit cards can be used to send and receive money. JPMorgan Chase’s QuickPay doesn’t cost anything but caps a user’s transactions at $2,000 a day and but at least one party involved has to have a Chase credit card. Venmo lets users send money fee-free using an established online account, a linked debit card or a bank account.

Most other alternatives like PayPal, Popmoney and Google Wallet charge modest amounts per transaction.

So if you’re a regular WebPay user, there are plenty of alternatives available once it shuts down – and some of them are still free, at least for now.

Source Article http://ift.tt/1y39EC7

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Amazon Closes Wallet on WebPay, Setting Oct. 13 Kill Date

Users of Amazon’s free WebPay peer-to-peer (P2P) payments system got some bad news recently – the service will shut down Oct. 13.

You can still make payments through it until that date, and recipients will have 30 days after that to collect any money sent to them before it will revert to the sender, Amazon said on its site. The Seattle company advised registered payments services users of the change in an annual notice distributed Sept. 10, according to postings on various websites.

“We are not addressing a customer pain point particularly better than anyone else,” the company said on its site in a section that explains how WebPay works. “We’ve learned a great deal about how and when customers want to send money and will look for ways to use these lessons in the future.”

Low impact

Amazon has offered the fee-free service, widely viewed as part of a campaign to challenge eBay’s PayPal unit in online financial services, for at least four years. Its ending gathered scant notice, however, which may indicate how little impact it had on the burgeoning market.

Users are able to send digital cash to anyone by email, using only a credit card or their Amazon account. Because it can be characterized as a payment by the sender and as cash by the recipient, transactions typically don’t cost either party anything.

Starting Oct. 13, registered users of Amazon Payments will no longer see the WebPay option when they sign on to their accounts, the company says. Users can still obtain a history of their transactions through the service after that date.

Alternatives to consider

WebPay is one of a few free P2P payment systems available to consumers. Square offers the service without charge and no membership is required, but only debit cards can be used to send and receive money. JPMorgan Chase’s QuickPay doesn’t cost anything but caps a user’s transactions at $2,000 a day and but at least one party involved has to have a Chase credit card. Venmo lets users send money fee-free using an established online account, a linked debit card or a bank account.

Most other alternatives like PayPal, Popmoney and Google Wallet charge modest amounts per transaction.

So if you’re a regular WebPay user, there are plenty of alternatives available once it shuts down – and some of them are still free, at least for now.

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