As technology has drastically improved, the banking sector has benefited from it a great deal. Customers can now access their accounts while sitting at home. This allows them to keep a check on their transactions by viewing their e-statements rather having to wait for their paper statement.

The new statements which were introduced in February 2010 now enable you with the below:

1. The summary of the credit card account gives the clear picture of where you stand in terms of the amount owed to the lender. These sections shows where the transactions have been made, the fees and the interest being charged upon that amount and the total amount of credit which has been used and the balance amount left.
2. The new statement also provides you with the payment information chart. This piece of information guides you regarding how much time it will take to pay the currently balance off.

The development and the changes made to the statements could now trigger a move within you to pay off your credit card debt as soon as possible. Below are the strategies which you could use so that the balance amount is paid within the least possible time frame.

Categorize the debt

If you have more than one credit card then you need to decide which debt you are going to pay off first. The important factor which should be considered is which lender is charging you with a higher interest rate.

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Parents are responsible to teach the first financial tutorial to their children. As your children learn from you, therefore guide them effectively by making your financial management as a milestone for them. Take benefit from all the situations which could be helpful to make a routine of saving money. Some of the monetary tips to guide your children are given here.

Pocket Money:

For the Age of 10 Years:

Subject to the attainment of proper age limit fix a stipend for them.

It could be their first salary. In return a five years old child could be refrained from purchasing toys. A ten years old child could be responsible for petty household tasks. Set a regular payment frequency. This will let your child be familiar with salary encashment.

For 10 to 15 Years kids:

Start transferring the expenses related to your child out of his pocket instead of your pocket. For an instance, if your child is fond of games, transfer or limit his sports expenditures, and do not forget to mention if the limit is exhausted, he would be responsible for the excess.

For 15 to 18 Years:

When they attain the age of 15, the time span of their stipend could be extend from one week to two weeks. And even after the attainment of 17, one monthly payment could be set.

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Opening an account in Swiss banks is accompanied with some rules, laws, and regulations. The basic rule is about the age of account opener, that if the account opener is a national of any other country, other than Switzerland, that account opener should be above 18 years old. The exemption and taxation on your amount is also done under certain rules.

Laws and Regulations of Swiss Banks

In Switzerland, nobody, even the Swiss government is allowed to reveal any information regarding accounts or account holders until an account holder is not a criminal.

But in USA even a private citizen has an easy access to it, i.e. in America any one; even a normal citizen can get information of any account holder. The Swiss banker’s requirement of client confidentiality is found in Article 47 of the Federal Law on Banks and Savings Banks, which came into effect on November 8, 1934. In the books of banking laws, this article act is defined as;

“Anyone acting in his/her capacity as member of a banking body, as a bank employee, agent, liquidator or auditor, as an observer of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC), or as a member of a body or an employee belonging to an accredited auditing institution, is not permitted to divulge information entrusted to him/her or of which he/she has been apprised because of his/her position.”

Exceptions of Swiss bank accounts

It is discussed in Swiss Bankers Association that no bank is allowed to provide the information and details of any account to any one.

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Swiss laws are very strict regarding the relationship between a bank and its customers.  If the bank violates this relationship a punishment shall be imposed. Banks must very careful therefore and not divulge any kind of information regarding their customers, without, taking permission.

Punishment

Swiss law treats a violation by the bank very seriously. The Swiss public attorney will immediately start prosecution against the bank.

The punishment imposed could be up to 6 months of imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 Swiss Francs.  In addition you may even sue the bank separately.

Exceptions

There are certain exceptions to this strict law of privacy. Information may be divulged if criminal activities are taking place. This includes drug trafficking, organised crime or insider trading.

Privacy

The biggest advantage of having a Swiss bank account is the privacy that you can enjoy. The privacy allowed to a customer is indeed a blessing. You might not want anyone to know about your money.

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Banks are a vital part of a country’s economy. However the relationship between a bank and its customers needs to be reciprocal. The customers must be able to trust their banks and a bank should protect the customer’s money. To understand how this works we shall discuss why does banking work?

Trust & Faith

The most important element of banking is the faith and trust that customers have in a bank. They deposit money in a bank due to this faith. The customers only have this faith, once a bank, assures them that their deposited money shall be protected and put to good use.

Lending

It is important to understand what the bank does with your deposited money. A bank usually re-invests that money. It does this by giving out loans to people.

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The British Bankers Association defines a dormant account; a bank and a customer have not been in touch with each other anymore. Practically it means that a customer either died or shifted house, and the bank has not been informed. Therefore, the bank is unable to trace the account holder.

Sleeper Status

If there has been no dealing in an account for a period of a year, the bank will write the account holder at his last recorded address. The bank asks him, if he wants to keep the account open.

If no reply is received, the bank will change the status of account to the ‘sleeper’. This simply means that from now onwards the statements, cheque books or other mail will not be sent to the customer.

However, the balance amount in the account still earn interest at a normal rate and the bank will keep trail the account balance record the last recognized address.

Reasons for Dormant Accounts

On account of two major bases, the account becomes dormant. The foremost and the most apparent is to save the money in terms of issuing the statements and the similar, when there is an activity on the account on monthly basis; It is apart from that taken by the bank, like interest payment.

The other important reason is to protect against individuality burglary.

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