Christmas is the biggest time of year for every retailer out there. John Lewis from the UK have produced a TVC which is genuinely touching and (dare I say it) profound. In the words of Christ himself,

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

For more evidence that mobile payments will be coming to a pocket near you, check out our infographic.

Click on the image to view the full size version.

EMBED THIS INFOGRAPHIC ON YOUR SITE

The future of payments is here and it’s not buried within your wallet or purse. It lies in the hands of your modern Swiss Army multi-tool: your smartphone.

Mobile payments are making their way into our everyday lives, with Google leading the way on this frontier. Launching soon, Google Wallet, an Android app that securely stores all your current credit information in your phone, allows you to make payments with a simple “tap” of your mobile device.

The technology is based on NFC–Near Field Communication, which allows for the exchange of data when two devices are in close proximity to each other.

During the unveiling of Google Wallet, Stephanie Tilenius, VP of Commerce at Google, declared that 2011 marks the future of mobile and, if you look at the numbers, it’s easy to believe.

In 2009, mobile payments made up only 0.5% of the total e-commerce transactions. However, in 2014, mobile is predicted to increase from $1.2 billion in transactions to $214 billion, equalling a 1.5% total share of the e-commerce market. Obviously, the market is growing and will continue to do so.

Google Wallet plans to transform the shopping experience, allowing you to lighten your pants and ditch your wallet in favour of your phone. In the meantime, companies like Square are making a wallet / credit card hybrid. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey developed the plastic square to fit into your phone’s standard headphone jack, allowing you to swipe standard credit cards between the plastic square as your phone decodes the cards information and processes the transaction. Square has seen rapid growth within their short history, now with nearly 3 million transactions per day.

However, with the news of Google Wallet, some would believe that Square is just filling the void in the interim, not destined to have a long shelf life. In the very-near future, mobile payments will inevitably require no add-ons for you to impulsively buy those shoes you know you don’t need.

The biggest question that arises with mobile payment is that of security. Can we trust mobile? How do we know that our information won’t be stolen? When you lose your phone, won’t that put you at an even greater risk than ever before?

According to Google, no. “In fact,” their website states, “Google Wallet’s security features go beyond what’s possible with traditional wallets.”

Our future: simpler and safer. Allegedly.

It sounds a little ideal, and I won’t put it past hackers and con artists to devise a way to easily steal my information; however, all I can do is trust and yield the best of my common sense (no, sir, I don’t want to buy those pair of sunglasses that are hanging from the inside breast of your trench coat).

As stated on the Google Wallet website, we’re on the brink of the next big shift in the way we make payments. As new companies and organisations recognise the powerful future of mobile, we, as consumers, are lightening our pants, ditching our wallets, and relying solely our phones.

One last thing: I’m not sure it’s time to completely write off handbags – until, that is, phones come with pre-loaded chapstick. Now that will truly be the future of mobile!

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

Australia’s minority government, led by Julia Gillard, is at risk of being defamed and dethroned at the hands of Craig Thomson as reports continue to surface regarding the illegal use of his Health Services Union MasterCard.

Craig Thomson is under investigation to determine whether he unlawfully used his Health Services Union credit card to spend over $15,000 at Australian escort agencies and withdrew over $100,000 for personal expenses, including the financing of his election campaign.

This purported scandal could bring down the Gillard government. If Thomson is convicted, he could face more than a year in prison, effectively removing him from his parliamentary seat which would necessitate a by-election. Based on the current polls, the ALP would likely lose a by-election and a seat in the House. This change in seats could be enough to cause a change in government.

Thomson, backed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, stands by his statement that all accusations against him are false, suggesting that others have access to his credit card and any expenses associated with brothels and escort agencies were done without his knowing, his signature forged in the transaction.

Senator George Brandis, Shadow Attorney-General who is leading the Coalition pursuit of Thomson, deems it is time for a police investigation: “If Thomson’s story is true and his signature was forged, a crime has been committed against him. If it’s not true, a crime has been committed by him. Either way, a crime has been committed. It’s now high time for the [New South Wales] police to commence an investigation.”

As talks surface suggesting that Thomson should step down from his role of MP, Trade minister Craig Emerson, in his interview on Lateline, suggests that this a matter appropriate for police investigation and should stay out of the hands of politicians.

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

The popularity of the balance transfer card is undeniable. With low or zero interest introductory periods lasting for several months, the balance transfer is one of the easiest ways to radically reduce your monthly outgoings and start to get your debt repaid. In Australia they are extremely popular and have long been the most popular type of card available on our site. The same can be said of the UK where the balance transfer card rules supreme. But, as we’ve previously discussed here on The Credit Letter, all is not even between the two countries. We may have a superior climate and have a knack of beating the poms at the sports they invented, but when it comes to balance transfers the UK is way ahead. Just how far ahead they are will be revealed below.

Balance Transfers in Australia

Broadly speaking, there are two distinct categories of balance transfers available in Australia: those with no interest and those with interest. However, the number of 0% balance transfer offers available on the market is vastly outnumbered by those charging interest. Here are some statistics for you:

• Number of 0% balance transfer offers: 6
• Number of low interest balance transfer offers: 58
• Average balance transfer interest rate: 3.38% p.a.

So generally speaking, while balance transfers are practically omnipresent in Australia, that’s not to say the rates and durations on offer are the best they could be. It’s fair to say that interest free balance transfers are not the norm here, but ‘cheap’ balance transfers are. And by cheap we mean in the range of 1-3%. In terms of the duration of introductory balance transfer offers, in Australia they range from 3-15months.

One thing that Australia does have going in its favour is the widespread lack of balance transfer fees. Most banks do not charge an administrative fee to transfer your existing balance to your new card, which can save you a lot of money.

All in all, Australian balance transfers are more likely to have a low interest rate and an introductory period in the region of 6-12 months.

(Please note that these figures are based on Credit Card Compare’s range of offers at the date of publishing and are therefore subject to change.)

Balance Transfers in the UK

The credit card market in the UK is notoriously competitive. There are more people living in the UK, so it follows that the market is bigger, more lucrative and thus fiercely cut-throat. It’s not uncommon for ‘wars’ to break out between banks with each trying to beat the other with better offers. Balance transfers are extremely popular in the UK, just as they are in Australia. However, that’s where the similarities end. The market in the UK is so competitive that 0% balance transfers are the standard with the offer’s duration being the distinguishing factor. Here are some numbers to compare:

• Longest 0% balance transfer offer: 21 months
• Shortest 0% balance transfer offer: 3 months
• Typical balance transfer fee: 3%

Consumers in the UK have access to some of the best balance transfer deals in the world. Barclaycard are currently leading the charge with their 21 month 0% offer, which up until recently was for the incredibly long period of 24 months. Most zero per cent offers are for at least 12 months, but many are for much longer. There are many short term offers available too, but most people go for the longest offer they can get. Why? Well, in the UK it is standard to be charged a fee when switching cards, unlike here in Australia. This fee is typically in the region of 3%, so when you’re transferring a few thousand pounds it quickly adds up. And if you don’t pay off your debt and have to switch accounts again once the introductory period is over, then you’ve got to pay another fee.

(Please note that these figures are based on the range of balance transfer offers from FinanceChoices.co.uk at the date of publishing and are therefore subject to change.)

Who Wins?

A side-by-side comparison of the interest rates and offer durations between the two country’s markets reveals that the UK is the clear winner. With a massive number of interest free offers lasting for well over a year, what’s available in Australia (at best 0% for 9 months with the Virgin Flyer) just doesn’t compete. At least we don’t get charged a fee to transfer a balance!

Australia’s Top Currently Available Balance Transfer Offers

	Credit Card Offer	Purchase Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer (p.a.)		Annual Fee	Apply now
			rate	period
	St.George Vertigo MasterCard Low interest rate & long balance transfer deal. Fast 60 sec approval.	13.24%	0.99%	12 months	$55	Featured Card more info
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card Overseas travel insurance & domestic flight inconvenience insurance. No annual fee for first year.	0%	0%	6 months	$0	Editor’s Choice more info
	CUA Platinum MasterCard Credit Card Earn shopping rewards points as you spend.	20.24%	0%	9 months	$89	Editor’s Choice more info

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

Are Australian an honest lot with money? NAB think so. In a series of experiments and hidden camera they tempted regular people on the streets to see if they would give back incorrect changes, return lost wallets to their owners and hand back $20 notes when dropped by a man with leaky pockets.

For the most part, most people did the right thing, which is nice to know! Online, when no one is looking on to keep you straightegde, fraud and crime is abounding. We’ve got a few tips to help you keep your credit card secure. And, if you do lose your wallet we’ve got a few tips for ya.

Banks like NAB have been working harder to show they care about their customers and engage with people on the sites like Facebook and Youtube where they spend a lot of time.

Here are the other two experiments:

Lost Wallets

Leaky Pockets

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!

It was only June when we blogged about the unstable economy and what you could do. Hopefully, people have been listening. Again, the world as a whole is seemingly descending into another financial crisis. Sovereign debt issues in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the squabbling over debt in the USA are catching up with these big-spending governments.

Stock markets have been posting reds on the board since Friday. If you’re feeling spooked by all the doom and gloom and want to know what to do in relation to your credit card and personal finances, then check out a few of our older posts:

How to Use a Credit Card Responsibly

What To Do When Trouble Strikes

The Debt Snowball Repayment Plan Explained

Maximising a Balance Transfer Card’s Benefit: How to

The Problem of Minimum Payments

How NOT to Use a Credit Card

The Correct Attitudes to Eliminate Credit Card Debt

This is another post from Credit Card Compare Blog - The Credit Letter, a creative personal finance blog where we love to share money saving tips and credit card reviews to optimise your wallet!