Bank Accounts - Choose the One That Suits Your Lifestyle

Although they tend to be treated as a collective, UK bank accounts are certainly not all the same. The benefits available to account holders can vary considerably dependent upon their choice of financial institution and current account product.

Some banks and building societies offer no-fee banking, others a raft of benefits such as travel insurance, roadside recovery and mobile phone insurance. In addition, other financial institutions charge their customers for maintaining an account without offering any incentives.

There are many reasons for having a suitable bank account set up. Employers no longer wish to pay salaries in cash but rather transfer it straight to an employee's bank account via BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing System). Such methods prove far more secure for the employer, whilst the employee also benefits by receiving cleared funds in their bank account on payday.

What's more, many utility companies such as water, gas, and electricity offer discounts for paying bills via direct debit from a current account; therefore, having such an account in place can provide such benefits.

The standard current account offered by the majority of the UK's banks and building societies involves the issue of a cheque book and a cash card, which also doubles as a cheque guarantee card. However, the use of cheques is fast becoming obsolete, as most major high street retailers no longer accept them as valid payment for goods.

However, the cash card is a good substitute as the majority issued by UK banks can be used to make debit payments and also withdraw cash from a wide range of ATMs throughout the world. Debit payments can be made in shops or online, whilst banks now offer an additional secure online authorisation process to ensure that a third party doesn't use another individual's card fraudulently on the web.

Added value bank accounts offer benefits that can be offered to the account holder for a monthly fee. Benefits offered for such premium bank accounts include identity theft protection, worldwide travel insurance and breakdown cover. Many premium accounts also offer interest on positive balances and in the 21st century it is possible to take advantage of online banking provided, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Some accounts have qualifying criteria such as a minimum monthly sum deposited, or a minimum annual salary earned by the applicant, but whatever you require from a bank account there is one out there for you.

Andrew Regan writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.

Business Finance Misinformation and Confusion

Confusion about commercial loans and working capital financing seems to be increasing despite efforts by the federal government and commercial lenders to suggest that there is ample business loan funding. As a result, the actual availability of business financing for commercial finance programs such as commercial mortgages and business cash advances is unclear to most business owners.

It seems apparent that there have been many reports suggesting that normal commercial finance channels are either frozen or extremely sluggish. In reality there are probably more opportunities for commercial loan needs than suggested by such reports. However, increasing uncertainties in financial and credit markets have produced conflicting and misleading information about the availability of commercial financing. For most business owners, it is probably not clear if business finance funding is realistically available to them or not.

In spite of some admittedly bad news, there continue to be to reliable funding sources for commercial real estate loans, working capital loans and especially for business cash advances. At the same time, the current negative economic conditions will prove to be difficult for most businesses. Commercial borrowers should expect that extra efforts will be required to successfully arrange commercial financing. An especially harsh reality for business financing is that many banks have discontinued all or most of their business lending activities, often with very little advance notice.

One common example of commercial finance misinformation distorting what is actually feasible is that some kinds of commercial financing have been more disrupted than others by recent events. Commercial borrowers might be unnecessarily confused by reports that do not refer to all commercial loan situations but rather primarily apply to a very specialized form of business financing. For example, by most accounts commercial construction loans are in short supply currently. Such specialized business loans are not as easily available as they were just a few months ago, and a more accurate accounting would reflect that the number of commercial lenders currently active in construction financing has shrunk dramatically. At the same time, most commercial real estate loans without new construction have not been as severely impacted as funding requests which do involve construction financing.

Several publications have reported that most new business financing requests are on hold or have simply been rejected due to recent financial market uncertainties, and this is another example of how business finance funding reports might confuse small business owners. While the sources for this information might have been honestly told by one or more lending institutions that they are in fact deferring new commercial loan funding, this does not mean that is the case for the entire country. If the discussion involved automobile sales, it would be comparable to concluding that nobody is selling cars anywhere after learning that several major dealers and two manufacturers announced that they were going out of business due to lack of adequate sales. Just because one or more banks fail or stop making business loans, it does not mean that there are not commercial loans available from other sources.

Commercial borrowers would be wise to maintain a cautious perspective in determining how to refinance or obtain small business loans simply because the banking industry has been involved in financial disruptions of an epic proportion. Many banks are sounding and acting like they have been through the equivalent of a train wreck. In such a natural disaster, it might not be prudent for business owners to seek the advice of banks which effectively caused the train to derail in the first place.

Despite reports about limited availability of business financing, some commercial lending activities such as business cash advance programs are actually as active as they have ever been. In the current commercial funding crisis, small business owners should seek a commercial loans expert for a realistic assessment and candid discussion about working capital loans and business finance programs.

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Free Money With Government Education Grants

While the cost to go to school continues to rise, government education grants can allow you to pay for college with money that you never have to repay. This is money that is budgeted by the federal government to provide students with the money they need to go to school and seek a higher education degree. The American economy cannot afford to hold people back from furthering their education, and government eduction grants are just one of the ways a student can get financial help to pay for school.

There are many differed student grants that can be obtained by American citizens that are either enrolled or considering going to college. What makes government education grants so unique is that they are not loans. That means a college student does not need a cosigner, down payment money or even a credit score. Because the government gives this money to you for free and never expects you to pay it back, they are not interested in your credit history.

In addition, many of the government education grants that are available to college students can be obtained over and over again. Once you submit your application and are approved, you could receive your cash grants every semester. This is money that can be sent directly to your school in order to pay your college tuition, but some grants can be used for just about any educational expense. For example, you can receive grant money to help you pay for books, student housing, or any other college expense that you might be facing.

Instantly access to the database to get your free grants for college. See how much you can qualify to receive and obtain your check in as little as 7 days just by asking for free grant money.