The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC or just PCI) is an organization that was started by the five major credit card providers to develop an across the board standard for payment card security. The standard they developed will be put into force by these companies—American Express, JBC, VISA, MasterCard, Discover—in July of 2010. If you take credit cards online then you will need to be in compliance by then. Here is what you will need to know.
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The Standards
Before you can be PCI... [Read Full Article]
In what has to be the most financially irresponsible move the financial service industry and the U.S. Government have made—ever—you can now get a debit card that gives you access to your 401k retirement account. Consider this: Over the last thirty years, there has been more effort made to part you from your money, to put you and keep you in debt than at any time in American history. The scary part is that these efforts have worked so well, changing our culture from a savings orientation to a debt orientation. What was the big selling point that pushed this change? Convenience. With credit cards, you can get a loan whenever you need one. It’s so convenient you don’t even have to pay it all off when the bill comes in. Debit cards draw from your checking and savings accounts. All you have to do is keep track of your spending and maintain your account balances. How convenient is that?
The traditional 401k retirement scheme, while rather cumbersome and inconvenient, has alway... [Read Full Article]
