CFPB enacts new rules for consumers who use money transfer services
While many people have found that sending money home to their native country is easier and more convenient by doing it electronically, some may still be hesitant to do it because they aren’t sure how it works. But a new rule adopted by a consumer protection group may help ease these concerns.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an organization that was formed in the wake of the financial system and housing collapse a few years ago, remittance transfer providers will be required to disclose additional information on their websites before individuals make wire transfers. This includes exchange rates, what fees are charged and requiring providers to investigate any issues that result in the recipient not receiving their funds.
A testimony to Xoom’s quality assurance is that virtually all of the new rules are already in effect with Xoom. Exchange rates among all 30 countries Xoom services are posted, fees are clearly identified and there is a window in which users can cancel transactions.
In addition to heightening the disclosure process, the rule also requires transfer providers to make any and all payment information available upon first request. This information should be repeated after the payment is made, CFPB indicates. Furthermore, individuals who are sending money will have half an hour to cancel a transaction after it’s been made.
While the rule is considered to be final, financial transfer companies have one year to implement the changes. In other words, the new requirements will become mandatory starting January 21, 2013.
Richard Cordray, newly appointed director of the CPFB, said the last thing people should have to worry about is how they can send money to their families back home.
“People sending money to their loved ones in another country should not have to worry about hidden fees,” said Cordray. “With these new protections, international money transfers will be more reliable. Consumers will know the costs ahead of time and be able to compare prices. Transfer providers will also be held accountable for errors that occur in the process.”
CFPB states that before 2010, there were limited regulations on international wire transfers which weren’t subject to the same kind of scrutiny as other activities. That changed with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, which overhauled the nation’s financial system. One of the things the bill required was the issuance of new protections for remittance transfers.
¿Cómo construir historia de crédito en USA y no morir en el intento?
Muchos extranjeros que llegan desde distintos lugares del mundo a vivir a Estados Unidos, enfrentan dificultades cuando se enteran que la mayoría de los bancos y casas comerciales son severos a la hora de requerir una historia de crédito.
Antes de comenzar debe tener en cuenta que son 3 las compañías que en Estados Unidos reportan su actividad financiera a los bancos y casas comerciales. Estas compañías no son gubernamentales y compiten entre si y son: Equifax, Experian y Transunion.
Estas compañías no toman en consideración el historial de crédito que tenía en su país y toda la información esta relacionado a su número del seguro social.
Pasos a seguir
1. Obtener un numero de Seguro Social y una dirección: S usted no es ciudadano ni residente puede aplicar a un número del seguro social si se le ha permitido trabajar dentro de los Estados Unidos. Este tramite puede realizarlo antes de llegar a territorio americano o una vez que se establezca. Asimismo, una dirección donde sus acreedores puedan ubicarlo es fundamental a la hora de construir un crédito.
2. Obtener una tarjeta de seguridad o un préstamo seguro: Esta opción es una de las más usadas y la línea de crédito que se le autoriza es la cantidad de dinero que usted mismo deposita. La “secure card” es distinta a una tarjeta de debito, ya que una tarjeta prepagada no reporta sus actividades financieras a las empresas que reportan su crédito.
3. Conseguir un aval: Si cuenta con un familiar en Estados Unidos que tiene un historial de crédito intachable, usted puede pedirle que sea su aval, eso sí cualquier pago que realice atrasado afectará negativamente a su familiar.
4. Obtener tarjetas en casas comerciales: Esta es una opción que se recomienda sólo si desea construir un crédito y sólo si las casas comerciales reportan su actividad financiera. Es relativamente fácil conseguir una, pero su tasa de interés generalmente es alta.
5. Conseguir un préstamo o comprar un auto: Si tiene la suerte de que gracias a su sueldo y a la verificación de residencia se le permite tener crédito para comprar un auto, usted podrá construir un crédito de forma mucho más rápida. Recuerde, para establecer crédito es mejor lento, pero seguro. Recuerde realizar envíos de dinero a sus acreedores a tiempo.
Entendiendo la declaración de Impuestos
Ya sea que usted sea un residente permanente de Estados Unidos o un trabajador que cuente con una visa de no inmigrante, su obligación al vivir en territorio americano es presentar su declaración de impuestos. En Estados Unidos la presentación de impuestos se dividen en tres categorías: Federal, Estatal y Local.
Asimismo en Estados Unidos, todos los artículos que usted compra están sujetos a un cargo por impuesto, este cargo dependerá principalmente del Estado donde usted resida. Si bien, la mayoría de ciudadanos y residentes ya está acostumbrado a pagar el valor agregado del producto por concepto de impuesto, a un buen número aún le cuesta trabajo ver reducidos sus salarios debido principalmente a la deducción de impuestos.
Si usted es un extranjero no residente debe presentar el formulario 1040N.R. Y si usted se pregunta si el pago que usted debe realizar es mayor al de los ciudadanos o residentes americanos, según la página en línea del Servicio de Impuestos Internos, (IRS ,Internal Revenue Service) los extranjeros tributan de la misma forma que los ciudadanos estadounidenses.
Si recibió salarios sujetos a la retención del impuesto, el plazo para la declaración se vence el 15 de abril, siempre que haya presentado su declaración en base al año calendario.
Todos los ingresos percibidos por los residentes legales deben ser reportados en la declaración de impuestos, ya sean provenientes desde Estados Unidos o desde otro país. Asimismo, los extranjeros residentes pueden reclamar las mismas deducciones a las cuales se les permite optar a los ciudadanos estadounidenses. Para mayor información viviste el sitio del IRS y lea las instrucciones del formulario 1040.
¿Qué gastos son deducibles?
Los extranjeros residentes pueden reclamar ciertas deducciones como ciertos gastos médicos y dentales, impuestos estatales y locales sobre los ingresos, los impuestos de bienes raíces, el interés que paga por una hipoteca, contribuciones caritativas, pérdidas y robos, nacimiento o adopción de hijos y ciertas deducciones misceláneas.
Cabe destacar que su estado civil, también juega un papel importante a la hora de optar por deducciones. Usted tiene plazo para presentar su declaración de impuesto hasta el 15 de Abril del 2012 o por lo menos para pactar el envío de dinero mensual que usted realizará ya sea al Estados o al IRS.
Los formularios a presentar son: el Formulario 1040 o los formularios 1040NR, Formulario 1040NR-EZ al Servicio de Impuestos Internos, a la dirección: Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215.
¿Por qué Xoom funciona?
Enviar dinero a Latinaomerica nunca había sido tan fácil, Xoom ofrece un sistema que asegura la confidencialidad de sus transacciones de una manera rápida, segura y lo más importante desde la comodidad de su hogar.
Xoom ha demostrado durante los últimos años ser una compañía líder en cuanto a transacciones de envíos de dinero. En los últimos cinco años ha trabajado con más de 30 países asegurando costos bajos y seguridad, tanto para quienes envían como para quienes reciben el dinero.
Una de las razones del por qué la mayoría de las personas prefiere Xoom es la comodidad y la seguridad que brinda realizar las transferencias de dinero en línea. De esta forma, ahorra tiempo y también gana confidencialidad, no a todos les gusta verse expuestos cada mes a una línea para enviar dinero.
¿Dónde enviar y cómo recibir el dinero?
Una vez que vaya a la página online de Xoom, deberá ingresar el país en donde se recibirá el dinero. Luego debe de optar por la manera en que el destinatario recibirá el monto. Este puede ser el pago por ventanilla, depósito directo y la entrega en efectivo en el domicilio del destinatario.
¿Cómo pago y con qué?
Luego deberá seleccionar el método de pago y confirmar la transferencia de dinero. Si desea ahorrar dinero la forma más económica es realizar el cargo a su cuenta bancaria, sin embargo si no cuenta con una, puede realizar el pago de la transferencia con su tarjeta de crédito o de debito Visa, MasterCard y Discover. Las tarifas son competitivas y lo más importante es que Xoom asegura la confidencialidad de la transacción.
No espere más y regístrese hoy mismo en Xoom y envíe dinero a Chile, Perú, Nicaragua, Brasil, Argentina, México, Panamá , entre muchos otros.
Inside Xoom: How to make sure a transaction goes through easily
People looking to send money may be worried about the possibility that something might go wrong with their transaction. In general, this is fairly rare, but there are ways both you and the person you are trying to wire money to can take to make sure everything is smooth.
If at any time you want to track the progress of your money transfer, just visit the “Xoom Track Transaction” link online. Most transactions only take moments, but that may change depending on the method of delivery.
When discussing the money transfer, you should make sure to tell them to bring proper picture identification and any other documents, that way the financial institution will be sure they are the intended recipient. That ensures that no one else will be able to take the money intended for your family. A full list of documents needed should be listed on their confirmation email.
Be sure your friend or family member is also going to the right location. While Xoom has partnered with a variety of financial branch locations around the world, there are a few non-participating ones. To make sure the money is sent to the right place, check out the list of Money Transfer Locations page.
If you run into any other issues, email Xoom Customer Service with information about he location and branch for where your recipient was turned away, the reason given for why the money was not delivered, what form of ID was presented and the Xoom Tracking Number. Customer service representatives at Xoom will work quickly to make sure the problem is corrected in as timely a manner as possible.
Remittance growth observed in Filipino community
Remittance levels have been on the increase for individuals sending money home to the Philippines, a new report indicates.
According to financial news service Bloomberg, remittances by Filipino citizens rose nearly 11 percent in November, totaling $1.78 billion, according to a statement made by banking officials in Manila last week. The growth rate followed what was an active October for wire transfers, as remittances grew 6.2 percent in the 31-day period.
Marc Bautista, head of research at Metropolitan Bank & Trust, stated before the report was issued that an increase in remittances would be a strong indicator of the country's economic health.
"Stable flows would mean there's still household consumption," said Bautista, Bloomberg reported. "We're still seeing good spending and although there are concerns about deployment, it's not worrisome at this point."
The news source indicates that the money Philippine natives send home represents approximately 10 percent of the nation's economy, as around 8.5 million Filipinos living abroad do this regularly. This increases families' buying power and helps stimulate retailers' sales, Bloomberg noted.
As strong as remittances have been among individuals within the worldwide Filipino community, the country has been one of the leading recipients of remittances for the past several years. According to The Philippine Star, a report was released by the World Bank last year which found that the Philippines was the world's fourth largest remittance recipient in 2010, trailing India, China and Mexico as the world leaders. The report concluded that remittances to India totaled $55 billion in 2010, followed by China at $51 billion, Mexico at $22.6 billion and the Philippines at $21.3 billion.
While these are the official estimates, the World Bank said actual remittances are likely considerably more, as some people send money to their native country through informal means that aren't recorded or tracked.
"When migrants return to their country of origin, they are likely to take back accumulated savings," the report noted, according to The Philippine Star. "Also the 'safe haven' factor, or 'home bias,' can cause remittances for investment purposes to return home during an economic downturn in the host country."
With Xoom, users don't have to visit their home country to send money, as funds can be transferred, quickly, securely and safely.
Inside Xoom: Seven easy ways to manage your Xoom account
In order to send money through Xoom, you are guided through the process of inputting your personal information. As anyone who's already done this will attest, it's simple and fast.
But depending on how long you stay with Xoom for your remittance needs, your situation may change, requiring you to alter some of the particulars of the account.
Fortunately, this is every bit as straightforward as signing up for an account is.
After arriving at the site, all you have to do is enter your email address and Xoom password, just as you normally would before conducting a wire transfer. Once inside, you will see "My Account" listed in bold in the upper portion of the screen, which you should hover over with their mouse. This will enable you to enter the "Account Settings" section.
1. Changing an address. This section gives Xoom information about where you are from. Should you move, you should be sure to update this section as soon as possible, providing details such as the new street address, as well as the town and state you are relocating to.
2. Changing a password. Sometimes passwords can be hard to remember. Here, you can change their password to something new or different that may be secure and easier to recollect.
3. Email address. Xoom identifies users by their email address. Should you change your email, this is the section that will update that information.
4. Phone number. Your cell phone information is required for all transactions. You should be sure to update this section should you be given a new number.
5. Recipient contact information. This is perhaps the most important part of the Account Settings section, as it tells Xoom where those who are receiving remittances live. If their living conditions change, you should be sure to fill in the revised address data to make sure the money arrives promptly.
6. Bank account. Xoom needs the name of the financial institution you are affiliated with. But bank fees or other financial issues may lead to you needed to change providers. Xoom should be apprised of this change.
7. Credit and debit card. Xoom accepts all major credit and debit cards. Thus, if you want to change to a different one, you can easily do this by filling in the new card name, the number as well as its expiration date and security code.
You should make sure you note when your credit card is expiring and update this information before conducting a transaction with an invalid number.
Xoom aims to make the payment process as easy as possible. Should you be confused in anyway, customer service may also be able to help.
Three things you must do to prepare for the Chinese New Year
For much of the world, the New Year's holiday has come and gone. But for the largest segment of the world's population, the new year arrives January 23.
Chinese New Year is by far the most popular and important day on the Chinese calendar, as it marks the end of the winter season and the arrival of spring. It's also the time during which celebrants go to great lengths to welcome the year, anticipating any bad luck they had in the previous year will be replaced by good fortune.
Celebrated throughout the world – particularly in regions with a heavy Chinese population, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and various other parts of Asia – this year's celebration is said to be particularly noteworthy as it is the Year of the Dragon. Each year is represented by a different member of the zodiac and each have their own characteristics, but the Year of the Dragon is believed to be one with the most potential for good fortune.
Just as those who ring in festivities on the Gregorian calendar with certain customs and practices, the same holds true for the Chinese New Year, as over 15 days of celebrating, revelers fill their day with various traditions.
1. Clean the house. Getting one's house as orderly as possible is one of the more popular customs. Celebrants believe that by getting rid of clutter and everything else that can mess up a home, they're ridding their homes of bad luck so good luck has plenty of room to take its place.
2. Handing out red packets. The color red has special meaning as well, which is why many people celebrate by handing out red pieces of cloth or envelopes with money in them. Tradition says that doing this brings good luck and brings added wealth.
3. Celebrating with family. As with virtually all ethnic backgrounds, families are important in the Chinese culture, which is why the Chinese New Year is meant to be enjoyed with ones friends, brothers, sisters, parents and extended family members. Not only are families supposed to enjoy the day together, but go out of their way to be especially nice and cordial with one another.
Unfortunately, circumstances often prevent families from being together. That's why there's often a spike in the number of people who send money online to their families around this time. According to Experian, more than one-third of Asian Americans send money to their native country where their families live during the Chinese New Year, hoping that their new-found profit will be the start to a fortunate and prosperous season.
Helpful Links:
What Chinese Zodiac sign were you born under?
Transfronterizos residing in one country, schooling in another
For the overwhelmingly majority of immigrants, receiving a quality education is of utmost importance. It's often the means by which they can land a job in the U.S. so they can send money home to their family members who need it. Occasionally, however, children of immigrants find themselves in situations where receiving an education in the U.S. can be complicated by circumstances beyond their control.
As recently reported by The New York Times, at the U.S.-Mexico border, a sizable number of people are entering the United States to go to school, even though they live in Mexico. Most of these border-crossers are American citizens, but because their parents have returned to live in Mexico, they are not residents.
Referred to as "transfronterizos," these high school-aged individuals wake up early every morning to catch a bus that will take them near the border. It's here that they cross into the U.S., hoping that customs enforcement officers won't notice them. The Times notes that while some Mexican families pay the tuition that's required, most do not, nor do they pay the property taxes that provide the resources for students to attend classes.
While some transfronterizos are able to cross the U.S.-Mexico border without documentation, others use fake addresses that give the impression that they're actually U.S. residents.
"It's stressful," Tijuana resident Martha, a high school senior who attends classes in Chula Vista, California, told The New York Times. "You can get found out and kicked out of school. Sometimes I feel bad for lying. But I’m just going to school."
The motivating factor that's driving so many to cross the border is the quality of education Mexican residents can receive in the U.S. as opposed to their home country. Citing a 1997 study from the University of San Diego, the Times reports that while the educational system has improved in Mexico, low graduation and high dropout rates make a U.S.-based education more appealing.
"The gap between the U.S. and Mexican sides is great enough that people have a strong incentive [to cross]," said David Shirk, director of the University of San Diego's Trans-Border Institute.
The rise in transfronterizos has put a strain on schools, both in terms of resources and with regards to residency requirements. But ultimately, faculty members feel it's their duty to teach those who come.
"What do we do with these youngsters?" Richard Fragle, superintendent of schools in Calexico, California, told the paper. "Philosophically, as an educator, if a young person comes to the door, we should educate them."
Inside Xoom: Four common questions among users
Xoom tries to make the remittance and money transfer process as easy as possible for its users so that they're 100 percent clear about how it works. However, it's not uncommon for individuals to have questions about certain aspects of the system.
1. One of the more common queries users have is how long a money transfer usually takes. For the most part, an online money transfer through Xoom takes minutes to complete. However, its destination and the way in which it's being paid can affect how quickly it arrives. For instance, the bank or financial institution that's receiving the funds may need additional information from the sender. In addition, payment processing times can vary among providers. In the majority of cases, though, transfer times are prompt.
2. Something else users may be curious about is whether they can cancel a transaction after its already been paid.
Xoom prides itself on customer service, which is why it's tried to make cancelling a transaction as seamless as possible. To do this, all users have to do is email customer service. In the body of the email, users should provide their email address and a Xoom tracking number, which users receive after a transaction has been made. The rest of the email should provide a brief explanation for why the transaction needs to be halted.
Xoom will go to great lengths to ensure that the cancellation can be accommodated.
3. What amounts can be sent? Due to economic circumstances, users may not be able to send money in the same amount each and every time they make an online money transfer. That's why Xoom allows users to send varying amounts. For instance, after signing up, users can send up to $2,999 for every 30 days and up to $9,999 for 180 days.
Should users want to send more than $2,999 in a 30-day pay period, they can do so, so long as they supply additional information that will help guarantee the money arrives safely. This extra information will allow users to send $6,000 for 30 days and $19,500 for 180 days.
4. How can users know when money was received? Finally, while users have a money-back guarantee that their funds will be delivered, they may still want confirmation that their loved ones have received their money. After a transaction has been submitted, Xoom will send out several emails to the sender informing them of where it is in the delivery process. They'll receive a final email as soon as the recipient has it in their possession.
If Xoom users have other questions, visiting the "Help" section may provide an answer. Otherwise, they can email customer service at anytime.
