PART ONEa Busting the money myths
CHAPTER ONE Take control of your money You are in charge
One of my most memorable examples of this occurred when I was at AIB. As well as working on rebuilding trust with our fed-up customer base, the bank was keen to build up its current account business, which meant attracting new customers. It seemed to me that the most obvious pinch point to tackle in this objective was the lengthy (and extremely off-putting) processes that needed to be ticked off before an account was declared open and a customer received their debit cards. ‘It needs to be vastly simplified,’ I said. In my view it was no wonder that people would doggedly stick with their chosen bank for an average of 17 years, (Location 217)
Note: People stick with banks for an average of 17 years
Metro Bank, one of the new breed of retail banks, has turned the branch model on its head, with a great deal of success. It’s introduced a very customer-friendly, open plan format, where banking staff are not hidden away behind thick screens but instead speak to customers on open counters. And, pride of place in every Metro Bank branch? A machine where customers can deposit change. Walk into any Metro Bank branch and you’ll see these change counters in constant use. Why? It’s what customers want. (Location 262)
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Note: .metrobank
I know for a fact that this, and other similar things my parents said in passing, shaped my attitude to money. They still do, despite the fact I have worked in senior positions in financial environments for almost my entire working life and have therefore been subject to many, many different influences on my thinking. The way our parents handled money is the foundation for how we spend and save for the rest of our lives. Families who have little money but a spendthrift attitude about what they do have, will pass this on to their kids. Those who value wealth creation will generally impart their philosophies and strategies to the next generation. (Location 323)
Note: Our parents attitude to money shapes our attitude
the reality is that money per se is never the real problem or solution. If there are any issues with money, it is down to how we approach it, think about it and handle it day to day. It should go without saying that people who think negatively about money, or dislike thinking about it so much that they ignore it, are more likely to be plagued by financial problems. Whereas those who feel more relaxed about money and that it is in their control are more likely to be successful in any endeavour to increase the amount they own. (Location 342)
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CHAPTER TWO Be smart at building wealth
In nearly every case, the powerful argument that these disruptors have used is that the regulations that governed their particular sector were created many years earlier for an entirely different era. They had since become overbearing, unnecessary and damaging to the best interests of customers. (Location 469)
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Note: .regulation drafted in a different era
banking isn’t working, we need a completely different sort of bank, what do customers want and need? A handful of criteria stood out in particular: The customer needs a better, simpler, more accessible service that meets their needs and current lifestyle in a logical way. With an increasing number of financial products, banks and financial institutions, we need to play a role in demystifying everything that is on offer. Consumers need a large, transparent marketplace that brings together many buyers and sellers into the same virtual arena for a more convenient service. We need to put the customer’s needs first (not the bank’s), making every transaction cost effective, easy and hassle free, vastly improving the overall user experience. There are seemingly endless opportunities to make credit more accessible and available on better terms, to improve the process by which payments are made and received and, well, to just make the whole experience more inclusive. (Location 495)
The fintechs that are leading the way are characterized by a vision to create more value for the consumer with efficient, low-cost services that put customers at the centre of their operation. With each new app or service, customer expectations grow and the innovations flow. (Location 514)
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Note: .fintech more value and lower cost to serve
CHAPTER THREE Love your data It’s the key to your financial health
PART TWO Fintech money makeover
CHAPTER FOUR Check your credit score
A credit score is simply the metric by which the banking industry determines how well people handle debt and therefore whether they are a worthy candidate for a loan or mortgage. The score, which is just three figures long, tells financial providers if a particular person is a good bet so they can make money out of doing business with them. (Location 813)
Tags: creditscore
Note: .creditscore credit score is a measure of how well people handle debt
In the UK, consumers are subject to three different credit scores from three separate credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. In the United States it is Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. (Location 837)
Tags: creditscore
Note: .creditscore there are 3 credit score agencies
The agencies all have different maximum scores too. Experian’s score is out of 999, Equifax’s is 700 and Callcredit’s is 710. It is difficult to correlate between the three because they have different scoring scales too. So, your credit score may be, say, 459 with Equifax, 997 with Experian and 600 with Callcredit. (Location 843)
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Note: .creditscore the agencies have different scales
There are ways you can actively boost your credit score too. If you have old credit cards that have a zero balance but are still open, this can help keep your credit history looking good. Lenders like to see that a person relies on a good mix of credit. If someone has a few credit cards, a mortgage, a car loan and so on, it all counts in their favour. (Location 869)
Tags: creditscore
Note: .creditscore having a blend of credit sources is good
If you want to keep on top of your credit score, the best advice is to check with all three credit reference agencies. Everyone should do this at least once a year, and it is highly recommended that you do it again if there is a big application in the offing. This way it is possible to note any potential errors and correct them before they become an issue. (Location 885)
Tags: creditscore
Note: .creditscore check wiith all 3 agencies to see your score
Totally Money (Location 911)
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CHAPTER FIVE Make money every time you shop
CHAPTER SIX Maximize savings and investments
CFOs are employed by large organizations to manage a company’s finances, including financial planning, managing any risks to the company coffers, keeping accurate records and reporting the annual figures. They are absolute experts in budget management, cost-benefit analysis and in forecasting any future demands, money-wise. They are exactly the type of people you need to have around when you want to keep things 100 per cent on track financially. (Location 1216)
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CHAPTER SEVEN Pay-as-you-go insurance
Under a peer-to-peer system, or P2P as it is known, the group of insured is far smaller. It can even be a group of close friends or family who pool their resources to provide support in the event that one or more of them suffers some sort of misfortune. If the period of coverage ends without incident, premiums can be returned to everyone in the pool. (Location 1392)
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CHAPTER EIGHT Pay off your mortgage
CHAPTER NINE Give generously
Early results show that supporters give three times as much when making a contactless payment. (Location 1829)
Tags: charity
Note: .charity people donate up to three times more by contactless
CHAPTER TEN Bill management made easy
Best for: active management of bills Bean connects to your bank account and credit cards to track all of your regular bill payments and subscriptions to services like Netflix, Spotify and Apple Music. (Location 1941)
Tags: getapp
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Mint, the personal finance app, and Onedox both feature bill tracking and payment features alongside wider budgeting and credit check services. (Location 1956)
Tags: getapp
Note: .getapp
CHAPTER ELEVEN Saving for retirement The low stress way
CHAPTER TWELVE Invest like a pro
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Travel cash best deals
Never, ever accept the offer to convert to your own currency: it will leave you much worse off. Always select no, or whatever option is offered that won’t convert the sum into your own domestic currency. (Location 2311)
Tags: conversion, money, currency
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Borrow clever
P2P players, Zopa (Location 2583)
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According to the World Bank, nearly 60 per cent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa and nearly 45 per cent in developing countries are either unbanked or severely underbanked. This makes it really difficult for them to access loans because lenders have next to no data on the potential borrowers. The result: up to 2.5 billion people are unable to access funds that could very well help lift them and indeed whole communities out of poverty. For years it has been a vicious circle, since without the ability to source loans any hopes of progress are inevitably brought to a sharp halt. (Location 2721)
Affirm is the modern fintech equivalent of this idea. Founded by Max Levchin, who was also co-founder of PayPal, which was one of the earliest digital payment companies to be launched, this new offering finances the purchases of online retail customers via instant loans. Customers simply make their purchases and select Affirm at the checkout, after which Affirm settles the full amount with the store and then recoups the loan in instalments from the customer. At launch the app partnered with more than 150 online merchants in the United States, including ones that offer travel, furniture, phones and fitness, and interest rates typically range from 10 per cent to 30 per cent. Borrowers have up to one year to repay the sum. (Location 2744)