Sunday, July 30, 2006
Some seven months after its merger with MBNA Corporation, and after test-marketing in 800 banking centres, Bank of America is offering more than 350 affinity credit cards in all of its 5,700 retail banking centres in the US. Consumers can sign up for credit cards that reflect their interests and passions at any Bank of America banking centre.
Sports cards, including NASCAR, Major League Baseball, and others offer rewards programmes that comprise such things as travel, merchandise, cash back and special experiences, like having dinner with the team coach, visiting the team locker room, or being a crew member for a day at a NASCAR race.
Under the college and universities card programmes, a percentage of all the retail charges made using the card is donated to the school or alumni organisations. More than 170 collegiate affinity card programmes are currently offered in banking centres, including the University of Southern California, University of Miami, UCLA, University of Arizona, Syracuse University, The Ohio State University, Penn State University, and the University of Texas. In addition, when customers use their cause related cards, such as Habitat for Humanity and The Humane Society of the United States, a percentage of every purchase is contributed to the organisation.
Web: http://www.bankofamerica.com
Friday, July 21, 2006
(ARA) - If you have experienced foreclosure, you're not alone. Within the last five years alone, more than 2.9 million households in the United States have experienced foreclosure.
Unfortunately, according to a national poll recently funded by the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (www.hpfonline.org), 53 percent of American homeowners would not contact their mortgage company for help if faced with delinquent payments.
Fortunately, many foreclosures could be prevented if a homeowner would call their mortgage company or the Foundation's toll-free, confidential hotline -- (888) 995-HOPE -- as soon as they recognized that they may have a problem paying their mortgage. The longer a homeowner waits to call for help, the fewer options they have to save their home.
Homeowners who call (888) 995-HOPE receive free, confidential advice from HUD-certified counseling agencies. The counselors work with homeowners to develop an action plan that addresses the homeowner's financial difficulties. In addition, the counselors attempt to connect homeowners with their mortgage company to develop a plan that prevents a home from moving into foreclosure.
According to Walt Fricke, president and executive director of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, too many American homeowners live on the financial edge. "They're just one crisis away from financial disaster," Fricke says, who notes that job loss, a health issue or divorce are among the most typical life events encountered by the Foundation's counselors in working with homeowners.
If you're a homeowner whose debt is continuing to grow and you're finding that you're having more and more difficulty paying your bills, the Homeownership Preservation Foundation recommends that you consider taking the following action:
1. Take a close look at your bills -- unopened envelopes or a steadily growing pile of bills from utility companies, your mortgage company, etc., are the most immediate sign you have a problem.
2. Open letters from your mortgage company and other creditors. Don't ignore these letters.
3. Admit you have a problem and dedicate yourself to getting help. If you don't get help and avoid your mortgage company and other creditors, you will damage your credit and, more importantly, you may lose your home.
4. Don't take it on yourself. Call for help. Call your mortgage company to understand what your options are.
5. If you don't feel comfortable calling your mortgage company, call the Homeownership Preservation Foundation at (888) 995-HOPE to receive free advice from counselors who work for HUD-certified nonprofit agencies.
6. BEWARE of phony counseling agencies (deal only with HUD-certified agencies), as well as offers in the mail or by phone that seem too good to be true.
7. Create an action plan to first determine how to pay for essentials for you and your family (food, healthcare, clothing, essential utilities, transportation, and shelter).
8. DO NOT sign any papers you don't understand.
9. Determine if you have the cash flow to continue paying a mortgage, to refinance your current mortgage, or to determine if you should sell your home and find less expensive housing.
10. Set a long-term goal of getting and staying out of debt and ensuring steady cash flow.
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (www.hpfonline.org) is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeowners facing financial difficulties retain their homeownership.
Courtesy of ARA Content
Monday, July 10, 2006
At least half of the 12 biggest banks in America are developing or have released live chat capabilities on their websites. Through live chats, customers can receive real-time help with loans, advice on buying a house and pitches for new products and services, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The relatively low cost technology behind live chats caught the interest of banks trying to restore some of the human element of banking lost in the process of bank takeovers and the growth of online banking.
"Banks are starting to see the need to inject that human element," said Tower Group Inc. Senior Analyst George Tubin.
While some banks use call-center employees receive the live-chats, others, like Bank of America, use trained sales staff. "You're not chatting with a customer service rep, you're chatting with a mortgage specialist," says Bank of America's consumer and small-business ecommerce executive Sanjay Gupta.
A few banks are taking the technology further by having pop-up solicitations based on customer's online behavior or by using page pushing, where customers are steered to webpages which both they and the bank employee can view.
As online customers keep an average of 25 percent more in bank balances, giving them more attention can increase the bottom line for banks, according to LivePerson Inc., executive vice president of marketing Kevin Kohn.
