Every once in a while, such expenses arise that put the breadwinners into jeopardy. Most families in Pakistan have one breadwinner per family which makes things only worse. To somehow manage things, people in Pakistan are accustomed to putting in “Beesi/Committee” to somewhat alleviate the situation in which people pool in equal amounts of money for a specific amount of time and each person is given the whole amount  on a per month basis till everyone in the group has had the full amount once. The problem with such a desi solution is that it’s not regulated by any authority nor any legal paperwork is done as the participants are based upon being from a single neighborhood or being acquaintances or friends etc. There are a number of issues and insecurities with this such as someone defaulting out on payments can spoil it for everyone in the group. There’s always an issue of who gets the money at the end of the decided term and even if its decided in advance people might have an argument. Lastly, finding a trustworthy person to keep the entire amount handed over by those participating in the pool is a difficult task indeed as nowadays it’s hard to trust anyone with your money. Thus such conventional solutions often end up with more problems rather than benefits.

This is where personal loans come into play. It’s a hassle free way of borrowing money for your short-term unforeseen expenditures. These have their certain benefits as well as some things that you should know and understand before you try to get a loan. There are also certain situations in which these loans could prove to be really handy and ease off financial burden from your shoulders. Let’s talk about the apparent benefits first.

For starters, personal loans are secure as they are offered on an individual basis to you only by the bank after the proper paperwork is done thus it’s the most reliable way of borrowing money. You can also apply to get loan for any certain amount according to your needs. You can pay in equal installments which are determined upon the total amount of the loan being offered to you by the bank. You can apply from PKR 30,000 to PKR 2 Million. The eligibility criterion depends upon your monthly income and your duration of employment along with your current age.  These loans are however given at a certain percentage of markup. Also in case you default on the payments, it might become next to impossible to get another loan even from a different back ever again as some banks check your credit history being clean or not before accepting your application for a personal loan.

Now let’s talk about some needful scenarios where you can avail these loans and make the most out of it while returning it in easy installments that remove the financial burden of having to spend a large sum of money at once. Occasions such as spending on the marriage of your children, home renovation, paying for your child’s education or buying a home appliance such as an AC in the summers for your family’s comfort or paying for an expensive medical procedure, can all be made an easy affair with peace of mind.  These installments can be paid within 1 to 5 years depending upon the total sum issued to you as a loan. This gives the borrower enough time to plan out a payment schedule from their salary.

Coming to the conclusion, we believe that personal loans are suited for the Pakistani people in contrast to the conventional methods being currently in use that are unsecure and put your funds at risk. One can easily take a loan whenever a need arises and then pay off in easy installments. Have you ever applied for a personal loan? Did you have any issues to get it approved or was it smooth sailing? Let us know!

Khurram Zahid

The post Why It’s Beneficial To Take Personal Loans In Pakistan appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Say hello to the good, old and humble SMS. Yes you can subscribe to SMS banking alerts for a nominal monthly charge. Given below are some solid reasons why you should be subscribed to SMS alerts service. In a nutshell, it’s a great informative tool and you will learn why in a moment.

Check & Balance:
This is a real important reason why you should subscribe to getting SMS alerts. The bank notifies you of each incoming and outgoing transaction and then you can tally it at the end of every day, week or month that you actually have the correct amount of money against your bank account. Also if you pay using your card most of the time, you’ll also have a fairly clear idea of your monthly expenses against your income which could in fact help you plan for the next month if you need to save some money by trying to cut down on unwanted expenses.

Safeguard against Fraud:
Because the bank notifies you for every transaction or changes that you make to your account, risk of fraud is minimized and you get to know of any fraudulent or unwanted transactions right away. For e.g if you pay your phone bill, you’ll have to first add the number in your online banking portal and you will get an SMS that will inform you of the number, amount and time etc. of the transaction thus you can be sure that you did the transaction or if someone else misused your account details.

Amount Reversal:
Sometimes it happens that a transaction doesn’t go through the first time and you try again thinking that it was due to some error. But unfortunately the amount has already been deducted and you end up paying twice the intended amount. Or you bought some merchandise at a Point of Sales and had to return it due to any reason. The merchant will generate a request with the bank for refunding your amount after which you will be notified via SMS once your amount is debited back into your account. Similarly if you go to an ATM to dispense cash but the machine gives any error yet you get an SMS that your amount was debited, you’ll not only be able to lodge a complaint with the bank for a refund but you’ll also be notified once the amount reversal to your bank account happens via an SMS.

Get Timely Reminders:
If you’re using a credit card, it’s highly important to keep track of your outstanding amount and pay the bills on time to stay away from paying  fines and interest. Having an alerts service enabled helps to remind you to pay your bills on time and thus saves your money in the long run.

Manage Expenses:
If you’ve got supplementary cards for your family specially your children then you would want to keep track of their expenses so things don’t get out of hand. SMS alerts will let you know each time a transaction is done so you can stay aware of your family’s spending habbits and keep them under control and within your monthly budget.

There you go folks, these are five important reasons why you should consider subscribing to SMS alerts if you haven’t already. Few reputed banks like Standard Chartered, Habib Bank Limited, Faysal Bank and Silk Bank are some of those that offer SMS alerts to their subscribers on Debit/Credit cards.

Khurram Zahid

The post 5 Reasons You Should Subscribe To Banking SMS Alerts! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Types Of Fuel Saving Credit Cards:
First of all we should let our readers know how various credit cards work to offer discounts on pretty much everything. For this case, there are three different ways in which credit cards offer these discounts:

1) There are dedicated cards that are made exclusively to spend on fuel and once you spend a set amount then you become eligible for the cash back which is a certain percentage of your total spending on fuel.

2) Next are cards that are not specific to fuel only but give cash back on various kinds of spending for e.g grocery as well as fuel.

3) Lastly come rewards card where you get reward points against your purchases and then you can redeem those reward points to get free fuel or other commodities as per the brands offered by your credit card provider.

Here are a few credit cards that offer cash back on fuel in 2016. This list includes cards that give cash backs on various kinds of services including fuel.

*PKR 1000 cap on cash back if refuel done from petrol pump other than PSO.
**1% cash back if refuel done from petrol pumps other than PSO.
All annual fees are exclusive of applicable FED.

Next come cards that offer reward points against spending which can be redeemed by getting various services available on your respective credit card. One of these is free fuel. Below listed are the Banks offering such credit cards:

Verdict:
Taking the above factors in consideration, we find that the cash back cards turn out to be a better value as they offer instant concessions against your purchases. In the cash back category we find that HBL Fuel Saver cards are the best as they provide the maximum amount of cash back. It’s definitely recommended for those who have a good amount of spending exclusively on petrol such as a case in which one has multiple cars that refuel for a good amount of money. If you think your usage is not specific towards one service only or if you’re spending is lesser then we think that Standard Chartered MasterCard Cash Back would be a good idea as it offers cash back on fuel as well as groceries which is a good idea for those with a family. Last but not the least, Faysal Bank mc² is a great alternative as well because it offers reward points on all types of spending be it shopping, dining or anything else. You can collect your reward points over a period of time after which you can redeem them to make free purchases from a list of brands that are onboard with Faysal Bank. Hence each card has its own suite of services that cater to various types of spenders and knowing your usage and then selecting a card is the best idea to gain maximum benefit.

Khurram Zahid

The post Best Fuel Saver Credit Card In 2016 appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

The chip-and-PIN ATM card technology is not really new anymore as it has been in use in the UK since 2003 and recently the US has been adopting it. It has many advantages over the older magnetic stripe such as it being more secure and it’s not damaged by magnetic fields. Hackers are always out and about trying to crack security systems but it’s easier said than done hence it has been in use since a long time and only now and it has been compromised as well and now they can hack the system and steal your cash. It’s not as easy as on a magnetic stripe card but it’s still very much possible with the right technique and tools. So far theoretically it was impossible because the security protocols encrypted data much more securely as compared to a magnetic stripe card which holds all the data on the magnetic stripe on the back of the card.

US adopted this new system because it would improve the security for the customers, merchants and financial institutions. This is true, but the problem is that when the market pushes in one direction, in this case the adoption of the chip-and-PIN technology, crooks exploit to ways to compromise it.

A new “shimmer” was found, that can be inserted directly in the mouth of the ATM card receptacle, between the chip of the user’s card and the chip reader in the ATM, making possible to record the data from the card while the ATM is reading it. It is fast as it works on dip readers as well (the kind of card reader that requires you to briefly insert your card and then quickly remove it) The device is inserted from the outside of the ATM and no access is required to the ATM internals. Together with a hidden camera and/or a fake PIN keyboard, this can be a deadly combo to steal money.

Using X-Ray scan and other microscopic scans, the researchers figured out that the criminals actually inserted a second chip onto stolen chip-and-PIN cards, enabling them to duplicate the PIN verification on many registers’ point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

The fake chip, known as a FUNcard, enabled the thieves to carry out a Man In The Middle attack, which involves intercepting communications on the point-of-sale (POS) terminal. When a shopper inserts his or her card into a POS terminal, the terminal automatically tries to verify its authenticity. In this case, the FUNcard is waiting with its own, fake “Yes” signal when the authenticity check arrived.The attacker intercepts the PIN query and replies that it’s correct, whatever the code is.

Until 2011, the concept of spoofing the PIN on a chip-and-PIN card was largely theoretical. A group of Cambridge University researchers discovered similar flaws, but this crime ring appears to have been the first time the trick has been practically implemented. Malicious software used on ATMs in Russia and Europe has also broken through chip-and-PIN safeguards, allowing thieves to drain ATMs of cash in at least one case as reported by several news outlets.

We think this was coming, as we mentioned earlier than any man-made technology has the risk of being reverse-engineered, manipulated or hacked in some way sooner or later. We hope that the companies responsible for ATM security protocols devise better safeguards and close any loopholes to avoid huge monetary losses in the future.

It is also pertinent to mention here that this new technology is now also being introduced in the Pakistani market. Banks like UBL, HBL and Faysal Bank are now offering these new chip based cards. However chip-and-PIN technology might totally not be implemented in its true form because the banks have still not implemented the PIN codes and customers still have to manually sign their receipts. The Government  is considering a regulation to enforce banks to move from magnetic stripe to Chip-and-PIN within 3 years however this might get delayed as we don’t have any data for ATM fraud yet because no bank publishes it as well as the fact that Chip-and-PIN cards are more expensive than the current magnetic stripe ones. Even though this newer technology has been compromised we feel that it should be definitely implemented in Pakistan soon.

Khurram Zahid

The post Hackers Crack Chip-and-PIN for Real! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.