Australian personal finance news, tips and advices.
by AFB
The start of Autumn every year is a good reminder to make sure you’re on the right private health insurance plan. Why Autumn though?
On 1 April, premiums for health insurance rise by an average of 4.84%. So if you don’t take the time review your policy, not only could you be worse off financially but you could end up with the wrong level of cover – something that could cost you much more in the long run. ... (read more)
by AFB
The automotive market’s performance is not closely related to personal finance, unless you’re planning to buy a car or work in this industry. My article tries to summarise the latest statistical repots.
Based on the monthly and yearly comparison reports of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), car dealers are having a tough time in Australia, especially in WA. The national year-to-date (YTD) average declines in vehicle sales was -2.5% in August 2014. Western Australia is leading this negative list with -8.3%, followed by Tasmania and Queensland with -7.1% and -5.4%, respectively. ... (read more)
by AFB
By Kate Browne
Nothing unravels a blossoming relationship quite like a bad credit history. Seriously!
Ok I know what you’re thinking “yeah right sure finance lady, it’s not about how you look or how you come across personality-wise or even if you are a dog or cat person it’s all about your credit report…give me a break.” And well that might be true, bear with me…. If you are going on a date it just might be worth checking your credit report – as well as the mirror – before heading out the door. ... (read more)
by AFB
Every day countries publish economic reports, meetings of Central Banks are held, as well as governors give speeches. These events usually occur at a scheduled time. To keep abreast of the upcoming events traders use an economic calendar where the time of their release and the degree of importance are displayed.
An important economic event can significantly change the market price of the asset in a matter of minutes. Traders respond to news reports in different ways. Some traders expect such news and recommend not to miss the opportunity to benefit, while others stop trading before the releases and wait for the market to calm down. ... (read more)
by AFB
As humans, we are always busy making one plan or another, especially when it has to do with everyday, weekly, monthly, or annual events that bring us success and happiness. A higher percentage of people never take the time to consider funeral planning, whether for themselves or their loved ones. Although it is not a pleasant topic for thought or discussion, a funeral is a significant part of everyday living and should be given due attention. This is especially true when it comes to the financial aspects of conducting funerals, which might put a whole lot of stress on your loved ones on top of their grief.
There are several reasons why you should consider a funeral plan, these include but are not limited to the following;
by AFB
In order to avoid being ripped off, you need to take your time and compare mortgages from a few vendors. This needs to be done correctly, if you desire a good result. You should also understand that the type of mortgage you choose will go a long way to determine the rate you pay. Other factors that might impact on rates include your deposit, credit rating, and others. Listed below are some of the steps that would help you engage in successful and great comparison shopping. They are as follows:
by GAdmin
The time of the year can be a massive factor in how much (or how little) you pay for your car. Choose to buy your car towards the end of the financial year, and you could secure yourself a very nice deal. You see, at this time of the year, dealers are eager to hit their sales targets for the year or to beat last year’s record. Whatever their motivation, there’s no doubt that they are much quicker to offer cut-price deals or throw in free extras at this time of year.
You can also get good deals in December as manufacturers push dealers to sell that year’s model before the calendar year ends. So think December and June for maximum savings.
You may have this idea that finance is not the best way to save money but the truth is that very few of us have enough money in our accounts to buy a car outright. And even if we did, taking that much out of your savings is a rather depressing thought.
No, your best option is to finance that new car and keep your nest egg intact. And saving money on your loan is a definite possibility if you use a broker like Stratton Car Finance. By using a broker, you could be cutting down costs right off the bat by avoiding dealer finance which is often overpriced and has unfavourable terms.
However, when you use a broker, they will find you a variety of competitive rates currently on the market giving you the option to pick and choose the product that suits you best. And once you have the finance arranged, you can head to the dealer safe in the knowledge that you have the financial side of the deal sorted. This puts you in position of power with regards to buying, and if you play your cards right, you may be able to squeeze a few add-ons as a deal sweetener. Something that a dealer might not do if they were doing you the ‘favour’ of arranging your finance.
Demo models are those cars that you take for a test drive, and that usually spend most of their time in the showroom. They are always tricked out with all the very best features, but at some point, the dealer will need to get rid of their demo model and bring in a new one. And that’s where you come in.
Ask the dealer if they have any demo models for sale. These cars offer incredible savings and often have very low kms on the clock. And while a decent demo model may not be as cheap as a base model, it will have all of those additional features so you’ll get way more bang for your buck.
Just be careful to check all handles, buttons, and levers as these will have quite a bit of wear and tear considering how many test drivers played around with them in the showroom.
So remember the next time you’re in the market for a new car – time it right, use a finance broker, and ask about the demo models. Use any one of these tips, and you should save a little money. Use all three, however, and you’ll be surprised at how much you can shave off the price of a new car. Maybe that leather interior you like so much is possible after all.
by AFB
They claim that Visa payWave contactless payments increased to 325 million in 2017, which is a 25% uplift compared to 2016. There were 67 million more payments in 2017 than the year before.
In the first month of 2017, Visa reported more than 24 million contactless payments, which by the end of the year increased to over 33 million.
According to Westpac, contactless is the preferred payment method in over 90% of purchases and contactless generated more than 68% of the Westpac Visa cardholders’ total spend.
It’s also interesting to see that St.George Bank (which is owned by Westpac) has higher contactless usage rate than Westpac. The ratio of contactless payments was 95% for St.George Bank customers, while 81% for Westpac customers, which clearly shows the demographic differences between the two banks’ customers. Also, Westpac customers spend 40% more on contactless credit card payments than debit card payments, which shows that customers are comfortable to use contactless payment for more expensive purchases.
It seems like that the fast food industry is the leader in contactless payments (98%), followed by other kind of restaurants (96%), grocery shopping and discount stores (both 93%). Healthcare related payments had the lowest contactless ratio in 2017, only 59%.
There are quite a few brand and technology names in the contactless payments system but the two most widely used technologies in Australia are Visa payWave and Mastercard PayPass (a.k.a. Tap & Go).
I look forward seeing the 2018 report next year but there’s most likely an upper limit for contactless payments and they will never reach 100%.
Here’s a link to the Westpac contactless payments article.
by AFB
In a nutshell:
Contactless payments make life a tad easier for the average consumer.
Contactless cards have been available in Australia since 2006 but it only started to gain traction in the last few years. From the 7.6 million cards issued in 2010, the number grew to 18 million in 2014. With more and more retailers accepting contactless payments, the total number of contactless cards in Australia should reach 33.9 million in 2019, Timetric predicts.
Contactless technology has existed for a while. In fact, it was first introduced in the’90s. ExxonMobil’s Speedpass was the first ever contactless payment system, and it launched in 1997. As you can expect, this technology was pretty revolutionary at that time. Motorists simply had to wave their Speedpass whenever they had to pay for their gas at participating Mobil stations.
Not long after Mobil introduced the tech, BPAY came up with a payment system that allowed users to transact through a financial institution’s telephone or online banking facility. This was launched the same year Speedpass was introduced.
By 2004, tech companies Sony and Philips introduced new technologies to the payment method. Along with the Near Field Communication Forum, they designed a system that brought more security to near-field payments. This paved the way for a variety of wireless payments, including Google Checkout, which came out in 2006. In the following year, payWave made new strides as it introduced a nearly seamless payment experience.
Contactless payment was introduced to mobile devices in 2011. The first cellphones that supported MasterCard PayPass or Visa payWave came out that year. With the widespread acceptance of mobile phones, tech giants and financial institutions made further endeavours to develop contactless mobile payment systems. And today, you can see this technology expanding to wearable tech.
Payment cards come with an embedded chip and a radio antenna that transmit information to and from the checkout terminals. These make it possible for consumers to wave their cards over point-of-sale terminals.
Although the payment procedure is contactless, brushing against a terminal won’t make you accidentally pay for someone else’s purchases. The card has to be held a few centimetres away from the terminal for a second or two.
Any of these cards can be contactless:
Before you can make your first contactless payment, you must activate the feature by completing chip and PIN transactions. This ensures that you are the owner of the card. This step also serves as a security measure to lessen the risk of fraud.
This method is absolutely convenient for you since you won’t need to swipe your card on the terminal. For payments that are at least $100, you won’t even have to enter a PIN code nor will you have to leave a signature. But for purchases that exceed that amount, you are required to do either of those.
To make a transaction, inform the merchant of your preferred method of payment. You just need to follow the onscreen prompts and check the amount. Finally, hold the card a few centimetres away from the terminal and wait for a confirmation message, a blinking light, or a beep. These indicate that the transaction was successful.
A few of the major financial institutions that offer contactless payment systems today are Visa, MasterCard, Barclays, and JPMorgan Chase.
Mobile devices, smartphones, and contactless cards typically use radio-frequency identification (RFID) to make transactions secure.
Other platforms such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay use near field communication (NFC). These systems are built using a technique called tokenization.
Apple, in particular, requires all the parties involved in the transaction process such as banks and payment methods to create two elements:
Both of these elements are installed into a chip, which the device’s operating system is unable to access. During a transaction, the device’s unique token and corresponding cryptogram are sent to the payment provider who checks if both elements match up. When they do, the sale is authorised.
This technology is similar to the way banks protect online accounts by giving their patrons time-sensitive codes. Though hackers may steal a token, they can’t use it without a cryptogram.
Contactless cards are available from several card issuers. American Express, for example, offers the contactless feature on most of its consumer cards and a handful of business cards.
You can tell if your card is contactless by checking the back. If it comes with the chip and is marked with the universal contactless symbol, then it is contactless.
Contactless transactions may cost retailers more especially when you choose to pay with credit instead of by savings or cheque. Not all merchants will add a surcharge for card payments, but those who do may add a surcharge fee that’s between 0.5% to 1.5% of the amount of a purchase.
Know that businesses are prohibited by law to charge excessive surcharge fees on debit, credit, and prepaid card transactions. If you catch merchants doing so, report them to the authorities.
Depending on the bank, the transactions may show up on your balance two or three business days after. Some take as much as four days to debit from your savings account. Others take even longer.
Compared to magnetic stripe cards, contactless payment cards are more secure.
Contactless payment systems are considered to be safer than conventional payment methods because data transmitted by these cards are encrypted, which can only be accessed by authorized contactless readers.
As already mentioned, you can hold your card the entire time you make the transaction. Entering your PIN isn’t even necessary. Encryption technology protects cardholders’ data, making it nearly impossible to steal information during transactions.
Plus, contactless terminals can only make one transaction at a time. Each transaction must be completed or cancelled before another can happen. That means there’s no way you can double up on payments.
Despite such safeguards, there have been instances of fraudulent transactions in Australia. Forbes said that an Android app can bypass the built-in security of cards, clone the card within seconds and use the information to carry out fraudulent purchases. Apparently, scanners that anyone can buy online can also steal cardholders’ information.
Additionally, anyone that has a near field communication (NFC) reader can access information like the card number and its expiration date simply by moving close to someone with a contactless card.
Banks will routinely look into your transactions to check if nothing is out of the ordinary. They will automatically inform your or send you an inquiry if anything sticks out.
If the card is lost or stolen, inform your bank so they can block the card. They may shoulder the costs if any fraudulent transactions occur, that is, if you ensured the card’s protection and if you notified the bank about the loss right away.
Tap-and-go frauds have been low in Australia. It’s costing about 2¢ for every $100 transaction, which is only a third of the rate of card fraud in the international scene.
You can take the extra measures to prevent data theft. To protect your information, you can wrap your card in tin foil before storing it in your wallet or you can line your wallet with foil. If you want to look less paranoid, you can always purchase an NFC blocking wallet.
But is all of this necessary?
If you ask Richard Koch, Head of Policy for the UK Cards Association, he would probably tell you that there’s nothing to worry about. A few years ago, when this method of theft first caught the attention of mainstream media, he said that the technology only manages to obtain the card number and its expiry date, which have always been easily attainable. After all, this information is displayed on the front of a card.
According to Koch, most retailers require more than a card number and expiry date to process a transaction. Merchants usually ask for the card security code or the cardholder’s address as a precautionary measure. Retailers who fail to do so will be liable if any fraudulent transactions occur.
Contactless purchases have what is called a floor limit, the maximum amount per transaction. In Australia, banks such as ANZ have a $100-floor limit. As long as purchases don’t go over that number, you won’t have to enter your PIN. But for transactions that exceed that limit, a PIN is required.
Since this system doesn’t really require a signature or a PIN verification, banks typically set these limits. The amount also varies between banks.
Though the transaction process is very simple, contactless cards are protected in several ways.
If it gets stolen, the thieves won’t be able to use it to their hearts’ content. Banks often set a limit on the number of times a card can be used or the value of the transactions before a cardholder is asked to use the chip and PIN process.
Notify your bank as soon as you can if your card is lost or stolen so they can block that card. In case of fraudulent transactions, you may not be held accountable for the losses incurred, given that you took the necessary precautions to protect the card and to inform the institution as soon as you noticed it was missing.
You can disable the contactless feature of your chip card. If you own a Mastercard Tap & Go or Visa payWave, you can disable them through NetBank and the CommBank app.
Using NetBank, here’s how you can disable the feature:
Using the CommBank app, here’s how you can turn off the feature:
When you feel like using this again, you can follow the same procedures, but of course, you must activate the contactless feature at the very last step.
Though you might currently be apprehensive to try this out, society might eventually influence you to make the shift.
Contactless payment systems are becoming increasingly popular especially in Australia. In fact, in a study conducted by the RFi Group in 2016, Australia had the highest use of contactless cards among the 16 nations surveyed, including the U.S. and the U.K.
This isn’t surprising since both private and government sectors are interested in the technology. Recently it has been confirmed that New South Wales, Queensland, and Perth are trialling this payment method on public transportation. Meanwhile, Adelaide and Victoria are considering mobile payment methods for public transportation.
If you happen to live in these areas, maybe you should participate in this trial. The commute should enlighten you on how convenient and easy contactless payments are.
Sources:
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/01/31/public-transport-contactless-credit-card-app/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment
http://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/debit-and-contactless-dominate-australian-payments-market/
https://www.finder.com.au/history-of-money
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/managing-your-money/banking/contactless-cards
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-33637492
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/110716/what-are-contactless-cards-and-how-safe-are-they.asp ... (read more)
by AFB
It is possible to borrow up to 105% of a property’s value through some lenders, with the help of a guarantor. This has a number of benefits, including allowing you to buy a property without a deposit, and – as we explore later, can also save you from the cost of lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI) that can apply to more highly leveraged loans.
A guarantor is a person who provides additional security to a lender for a loan. They agree to become legally liable for repaying a debt if the borrower defaults on their repayments.
Not all lenders offer these types of loans, but several do. Guarantors are usually immediate family members, like parents or spouses. Some lenders even call them family pledge loans, rather than guarantor loans.
You might be wondering why you’d need to borrow more than 100% of your property’s value. It’s important to understand that when you buy a home or investment property, there can be up-front costs in addition to the purchase price, including: