Adult industry merchants often face unique challenges when opening and maintaining payment and bank accounts (MIDs). Businesses in the adult sector must develop a robust strategy to meet regulatory requirements and maintain stable relationships with banks and payment acquirers.

Here’s a practical guide for navigating this process with a compliance-focused approach.

1. Preparing a Solid Compliance File

A structured and transparent compliance file is key to securing financial partners. You need to establish and document the following:

• KYC and AML Compliance Policy: A good compliance strategy is built on rigorous KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) policies. You must demonstrate that your clients are legitimate and that transactions are monitored.
• Service Description: It’s essential to present your products or services transparently. It would be beneficial to provide a clear description of your activities to reinforce trust with your financial partners.

2. Maintaining Compliance and Minimizing Risks

Once accounts are opened, you must ensure ongoing compliance and transparency to minimize the risk of account termination.

• Updating Compliance Policies: Compliance experts must conduct periodic audits to ensure your practices align with regulatory and legal updates.
• Monitoring Compliance Processes: Compliance experts can ensure that all AML and KYC procedures are consistently applied, strengthening the security and reliability of your compliance file.
• Dispute Management and Fraud Prevention: Compliance experts support the management of payment disputes and the enhancement of anti-fraud processes, thereby reducing risks to your business and preserving your relationships with acquirers.

3. Optimizing Communication and Transparency with Financial Partners

Adult merchants can adopt a more transparent communication approach with their banks and acquirers, building trust and reducing the risk of account closure.

• Proactive Transparency: Compliance experts help structure clear communications with your financial partners, explain the origin of transactions, and provide necessary client information.
• Organized Documentation: Compliance experts assist in organizing compliance documents and information about your practices, facilitating exchanges with financial partners during audits or verification processes.

Conclusion

For adult merchants, Compliance-Edge offers a strategic solution to navigate the complex world of compliance and financial services. Adopting a proactive approach and reinforcing compliance practices increases your chances of securing and maintaining reliable payment and banking accounts.

Understanding how to manage your personal finances like a pro is essential for paying bills, building savings, amassing wealth, and enjoying a long and comfortable retirement.

Financial advisors and consultants sometimes charge clients hundreds or even thousands of dollars for advice on managing their finances. However, the internet provides many valuable resources for individuals who want to manage their finances correctly. But navigating through all the resources available on the internet is not easy. That's because many companies push offers that may not be in the reader's best interest. Also, there is a lot of outdated information.

That's why we've put together a list of 10 useful personal finance websites that give you quality information and research tools to help you put your finances in order and reach your goals.

Although a few of these websites offer a specific personal finance niche, they all provide a comprehensive resource of money-related content to help users make wise decisions and learn new ways to manage their finances better.

1.FinMasters

FinMasters' mission is to provide individuals with the information, tools, and insight they need to make better financial decisions. Two elements make FinMasters one of the best personal finance websites. 

1. The content is well researched and well written by financial experts with many years of work in the field. You can read in-depth articles and reviews for credit cards, loan offers, stock investments, and other financial products.
2. There are over 70 financial calculators to start any of your economic analyses. From creating a budget, calculating the cost of borrowing, debt payoff, and planning for your future, you'll find the calculator you need. Check their stock calculator to find out how much would you have made if you've purchased a stock a couple of years ago or less.

The bottom line is that it doesn't matter if you just started to organize your finances or are an advanced investor; FinMasters have something for you.

Recommended articles:

• How Inflation Works: An Illustrated Guide for the Rest of Us
• Why Are Gas Prices so High?

Visit FinMasters.com

2. WiseBread

Wise Bread is another trendy personal finance community with bloggers and experts who aim to help people live well. As they like to say, "You don't have to sacrifice your financial independence to enjoy life."

The most popular areas of the site are the "Personal Finance" and "Frugal Living" sections. It also offers a "Life Hacks" area that covers everything from technology tips to managing an organization.

Visit WiseBread

3. MoneyWise

MoneyWise's mission is to help readers make sense of complex topics like mortgages, loans, insurance, banking, retirement, and taxes and get ahead.

The visitors to MoneyWise will find a lot of content, including the latest financial news, financial calculators, lifestyle articles, and personal finance information that's quite updated and written to make it easier for ordinary people and not only to understand right.

Visit MoneyWise

4. Kiplinger

Kiplinger takes a much different approach, but it's valuable in its way. In addition to personal finance tips and tricks, Kiplinger gives you solid and accurate business forecasts.

Besides the research and business forecasts, one of the greatest benefits of Kiplinger is the variety of content available. It has videos, quizzes, news columns, special reports, blogs, and more interactive content that make it easier to understand by the readers.

Visit Kiplinger.com

5. MoneyUnder30

Money Under 30 is an independent personal finance site that provides free advice for young adults interested in making informed decisions about their finances. The website covers the following areas of personal finance: credit cards, banking, loans, investing, insurance, and budgeting.

Besides the reviews and articles, you can also access calculators for estimating your credit score, car affordability, home affordability, emergency funds, student loan refinancing, etc. 

Visit MoneyUnder30.com

6. Bankrate.com

Bankrate was launched in the pre-Internet area in 1976, and this former newsletter has transformed itself into one of the most respected websites in the personal finance arena.

As its name implies, Bankrate supplies information on bank rates, mortgages, and credit cards. Besides, it's also an excellent source of advice and reviews on personal finance advice in financial planning, retirement, and investments.

You may even create an account to access personalized content and offers designed to make you get the best for your money.

Visit BankRate.com

7. FinanceBuzz

FinanceBuzz is a personal finance magazine that provides tips, advice, and recommendations to help people make wise decisions regarding their money. This personal finance blog claims its goal is to "democratize financial independence; not just for the select few, but for all."

The content is categorized in the following sections: credit cards, investing, money, debt help, loans, banking, and car insurance. There is also a section dedicated to money-making opportunities.

Visit FinanceBuzz.com

8. Daily Money Saving

Our friend Denise launched Daily Money Saving in 2015 as a community built around the notion that saving money is good. Besides articles and tutorials on personal finance, including debt reduction, saving money, making money, and investing, she offers personalized advice for anyone interested in saving every month and living frugally.

Visit Daily Money Saving

9. MyMoney.gov

MyMoney.gov offers its unique spin on personal finance and is the only government-operated website on the list. Check it to read about earning, borrowing, saving, investing, spending, and protecting your money. On top of that, you can access financial tools and quizzes on personal finance.

I recommend you check it from time to time to read the latest news and warnings from the Government regarding your money.

10.Top Gold Forum

We launched Top Gold Forum back in 2008 to help people navigate through the issues of the financial crisis. The community helped people connect with other service providers and online money makers - to ask questions, compare offers, or help others in your trade.

Since then, we have proven to be a safe environment to discuss the topics that matter most for people interested in managing their finances better. It is a highly active site with over 30K members and close to 500K posts with excellent moderation to keep things in check. 

Conclusion

If you're looking for reputable resources and reliable information on personal finance, start with these ten sites we recommend. You won't be disappointed as you can access high-quality information, guides, and tools to help you put your finances on the right path.

Hello, dear TGFers,

Before anything else, I will tell you that's one of the most important posts you would read here on Top Gold Forum. Please do not ignore it. You will thank me in a couple of months.

If you are a regular TGFers you know that since 2020 we are preparing ourselves, as a community, to face the global financial crisis which is already here.

I've managed to do well in the '08 crisis and also learned a lot of things that helped me see the upcoming crisis and prepare accordingly. 

So without further ado, I'm going to list 10 things I suggest you doing it to stay safe and why not, make a profit, in these troubling times.

1. Make sure you and your loved ones are healthy and safe.

That's the most important piece of advice I can offer you and you should not take it lightly. It's important to make sure that you and your family, your close friends and your loved ones take care of their health and safety.

2. Take care of your expenses and reduce the non-essentials.

If you haven't done it already you should have a close look at your monthly expenses and cut the things that are no longer essential. I did this in 2020 right in the middle of the pandemic and I was shocked to see how much money I was spending on things that I could easily cut or reduce.

Just to give you some examples: Subscriptions to online tools and services I barely used. Also, I could downgrade my mobile phone payment by around 60% by switching to a smaller plan and the TV subscription with around 30%.

So take a look sharply at your monthly bills and start ASAP reducing or cutting what is not essential.

3. Lower your debt or try to remain debt-free.

This is important. As the interest rates are rising a lot you'll pay much more for your loans. Also, the banks and lending companies will become ruthless in getting their money back. That's why you need to lower your debt as much as possible and make sure you are paying the loans on time. If you are or you can easily become debt-free would be awesome.

Take a look at the following 10 websites that can help you put your personal finances in order.

4. Make sure you're not easily replaceable.

This applies to you even if you're employed or a freelancer. During a financial crisis, many companies reduce their working force and the first ones that get laid off are persons that are not essential to the business. 

So ensure that you bring value to your employer or to the businesses you are working with. Become better, learn new things, and automate as much as possible of your work to have competitive rates.

5. Have 6-8 months of expenses covered.

Just in case you get laid off or you simply do not get any more work as a freelancer you should have AT LEAST 6-8 months of expenses for your family covered. I recommend even having 12 months of expenses covered. I know this sounds too much but remember that we don't know how tough the crisis will be.

Keep some of your savings in hard cash just in case the banks are going to limit the withdrawals. It's not SCI-FI, it happened before in the 08 crisis in Greece and Cyprus.

6. If you plan to sell anything, do it now.

If you plan to sell your house, your car, or some assets you own, I recommend doing it ASAP. That's because soon there wouldn't be so much money in the markets and the interest rates will go up so people will be reluctant to purchase things that are not essential or are overpriced now.

7. Educate yourself - Learn new skills

In the 4th point of this list, I've told you to ensure you're not easily replaceable. What I want to emphasize here is that in a recession companies look for ways to cut their costs. And one thing to do is through automation.

Besides automation, there are new industries that rise now like blockchain, web3, digital healthcare, electric cars, etc. So don't be afraid to reinvent yourself for the jobs and opportunities of the upcoming years.

8. Develop multiple income streams (side hustles, money-making opportunities, etc)

Having multiple income streams ensures you that will still make money even if lose your primary job or income opportunity. In times of financial crisis relying on only one income stream is risky.

You may lose your job, your stock investment may plunge in value, etc., so make sure you have a couple of income streams that are in diverse industries. 

I recommend checking the money-making opportunities here in TGF and choosing one or two that fit your skills and your risk profile.

9. Keep your eyes wide open for opportunities

A financial crisis it's not only about hard times but also about opportunities. Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, and a couple of highly successful companies of today were started in the 08 crisis. 

On top of that the stock, commodities, and other assets were at good discounts. As Buffet says "be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful".

In a financial crisis, most people are fearful and sell their assets at great discounts. That's the time when you can get them at a fraction of their true value.

Before moving forward I feel I should warn you that not all assets that look to be on discount they actually are. Some of them simply are so low because that's their value and will not go back up. Learn about value investing to understand where the value is and where isn't.

10. Pay attention to SCAMs

The last piece of advice that I want to share with you is to pay attention to SCAMs. That's because in troubling economic times the criminality rises sharply and there are many that want to get rich by stealing others' hard-earned money. So research everything, and don't fall for promises that are too good to be true.

11. (Bonus) Have a plan

It's mandatory to have a plan and stick to it if you want to be well in these troubling times. If you don't have one you will be easily distracted by the news or the events that rise. As long as you have your plan you can adjust it easily but make sure you do everything in your power to reach your goals.

Conclusion

And there you have it: 10 things + bonus that you should do to do well in the following financial crisis.

To recap, this is what you should do to prepare yourself:

1. Take care of yourself and the health and security of your loved ones;
2. Cut or reduce your debt and your expenses that are not essential;
3. Have money aside in case you get laid off and for investments and opportunities that arise;
4. Learn new skills, and become better at what you do;
5. Develop multiple income streams;
6. Pay attention and do not fall for SCAMS;
7. Have a plan!

Even if you have not prepared yet, it's not really too late if you start taking action now.

What about you? Are you prepared? What actions would you take to be safe in these troubling economic times?

Let me know by posting in this forum and let's all learn and prepare

Your 20s are a time of big changes in people’s lives. Starting a job, starting a family, sometimes buying your first house.

This might be the decade with the most changes you will ever encounter!

But beware of the multiple traps caused by an increased cash flow from a new job. Of course, some caveats and some good lessons can and should be learned before turning 30.

Here’s a list of 9 money lessons I learned in my 20s (sometimes the hard way) and which are based on my personal experience, which I hope some other people will learn too while there’s still a lot of time to catch up on your mistakes.

#1. Pay yourself first

The financial equation which we are taught from our childhood is spent less than what you earn. While this is true, people often miss the point and pay all their bills and recurring expenses, and then whatever is left goes for savings.

However, (in my mind) this is not a proper way to handle personal finance. It’s much better to pay yourself first before paying your bills and other expenses.

As soon as your paycheck hits your bank account, it should be automated to investments and savings accounts (or paying off debts). Automating this process in the first place has a huge advantage: you won’t be tempted to spend it because you will not even know it was here in the first place!

#2. Take advantage of the ultimate 20% return.

Get rid of that balance (if you do have one) on your credit card. Always pay off your credit card in full! If you’re onto investing long-term, you’ll be glad to get a 7% return, while with a cash savings account, it depends, but usually, you’ll get a rate from 0.5% to a meager 2.5% return (at best). But paying off your balance in full each month is a guaranteed 18-22% return.

Do not fall into the trap, and do not overuse credit cards like crazy! That’s your best return ever. Just remember that there are good and bad debts, but credit card debt definitely falls into the bad one.

#3. Side hustles can make a (huge) difference.

Thinking of starting a side hustle? Or maybe you’ve already started? Great because this is key nowadays. In fact, it seems like everyone wants to start (or has already started) a side hustle!

I’ve managed to supplement my full-time salary by working overtime and picking up some odd jobs. Whether it be renting one extra room on  Airbnb or working just a few extra hours per week has provided me with thousands of dollars per year to spend on travel and entertainment — totally guilt-free.

There are so many ways that you could earn money online (or offline). Just find something you love or that pays well (or both would be even better!). Personally, the ultimate side hustle would be to start a blog, which allowed me to combine earning extra cash and doing something that I love — talking about personal finance.

#4. Negotiating (almost) always pays off.

If there’s one simple and easy thing I learned in my twenties, it’s that almost anything is negotiable in life. This might be the fact on electronics, phone or internet, but there are so many things which can also be negotiated such as cars, rent and even furniture.

So pick up the phone or try to talk to the seller and ask for a better price; you have nothing to lose! Also, remember to take advantage of free cashback portals, like Ebates (and get $10 when  Swagbucks, when shopping online.

Negotiating is also crucial when it comes to negotiating salaries. Just remember that getting your best shot is easier when you have a competing offer in hand to get the best value.

#5. Save for retirement early on.

You’re never too late to the game when it comes to saving for your retirement. I started quite late saving for retirement as I graduated quite late (I was 25) and started working full-time a few weeks later.

I chose to pay back my student loans early on, which meant that I nearly didn’t start saving for retirement until I was 29. I used the excuse that I wasn’t making enough money. However, looking back, I should definitely have done both to take advantage of compound interest!

With so many Robo-Advisor out there (if you have not already, check out Wealthsimple, which is now available in the UK, as well as Canada and the US), it’s even easier than it was before to start saving early on, even without knowing a lot about investing.

Just remember that you NEED to get started, as your future self will be much more grateful if you started early on (remember that compound interest is your ultimate friend)!

#6. Keep on learning

You can’t, and you won’t know everything there is to know about a specific topic at any single moment in your life. That’s simply impossible because it’s a dynamic and perpetual process!

As a matter of fact, your education is far from over after you leave a classroom for the last time. As outlined in my Goals For 2021, I’ve personally chosen to read more this year, especially about personal finance. I’ve just finished I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, and I must say that it’s definitely eye-opening.

Finding the time to learn new things that will help you in your career and personal life was something that I definitely wish to start earlier. Maybe you particularly enjoy a technical skill, or maybe you’re more on the artistic side. Who knows, maybe one day this specific skill will allow you to turn your side hustle into a full one!

#7. Always plan for the worst.

Aka, meet your best friend, the emergency fund! While it’s hard to imagine needing emergency funds when you’re young and just starting, you never know what the future can bring. 

Whether it is for an unexpected medical bill not covered by your insurance plan or in case, your car suddenly breaks down. So how do people plan on paying such bills without going into debt or starting to dip into their retirement funds if they’ve not started their emergency fund in the first place?

Building an emergency fund takes time and discipline, and some sacrifices, but it can (and should) be done. First, try to start contributing to an emergency fund that you keep in highly liquid funds for when the unexpected happens.

I’ve chosen to stick mine in a High-Interest Savings Account with Tangerine. Their high-interest savings and no-fee chequing accounts have been an integral part of helping me build long-term wealth. 

If you don’t have an account with Tangerine, you can set one up using my Orange Key (48902575S1) and receive a $50 bonus. Free money is always better!

#8. Budgeting is useful

Some people start organizing their finances but often give up on it because they are having trouble sticking to their initial budget. If that sounds familiar, you should definitely use a budgeting app.

This can help you organize your finances easily and can also help you automate them. This is the most effective way to make sure you’re not spending more than you’re earning. You have to find a proper way to manage your own budget and not specifically do like others, as everyone manages their personal finance differently!

I personally use Mint to track my expenses. There’s also an awesome tool (Personal Capital) that many of my friends and readers love using if you want to see all your investments and retirement accounts in one secure and convenient place. Still, it’s only available in the US (at the moment!).

#9. Set yourself some financial goals

Goals-based investing is something that kind of rules my life now (I mean the goals part, not specifically the goals-based investing!). As a famous quote says, “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you’re heading. “ 

Basically, what this means is that it’s a good idea to plan where you’d like to be in the future and make sure that’s the path you’re on.

Simple goals like “I want to save for the next holidays” or more detailed ones like “I’d like to save some money for an upcoming house down payment” all begin with awareness and taking the first small steps.

Just start with a few goals, as you can always change them later! If you live in Canada, feel free to try Mylo, it’s the perfect way to automate and achieve these small first steps at the same time.

Final thoughts

So this was my own list of lessons I learned during my 20s, which I hope others will learn before their 30s. Learning is key to continual growth, and while making mistakes happen, avoiding making the same mistakes twice is something you should understand early on!

Ultimately, you are still young, and you have plenty of time to make mistakes and recover. But you’ll be far better off in life if you get off to a good start now.

Your 20s are such an exciting time, all about career opportunities, building relationships, and embracing financial responsibilities. The sooner you master all those things, the closer you are to reaching financial independence.

What about you?

Do you have some money lessons you’ve learned the hard way?

Or are there some you find really important?

Let me know in the comments!

A financial crisis is one of the most dreaded buzzwords which is heard or read around the world. Either an economy is facing a recession or even a financial crisis, or there is a fear that it may be headed towards one, depending on several macroeconomic indicators.

These indicators are marked declines in the per capita consumption, GDP, trade, money flow, energy consumption, and employment rate.

Even the most powerful and economically strong nations in the world have gone through some devastating recessions in the past.

Let us look at some of the worst global financial crisis the world has faced so far:

#1. The Tulip Mania of 1634

Event

This is one of the first recorded market crises of the early times, which happened in Holland when the price of the tulip buds rose to six times that of an average man's salary.

The flowers originally imported from Turkey were considered exotic in Europe and everyone. The affluent and the aspiring affluent, even middle-class citizens, wanted to have tulips which were one of the most delicate flowers that perished quickly and could take about 12 years to flower from a seed.

The Tulip business became so crucial in Holland that traditional agriculture was impacted. The price of tulips rose to as much as 5500 florins which are approximately equal to $ 825000.

Stages of a bubble

Consequences

The prices, however, began to decline irrevocably by 1637 steeply, and those who had loaned to grow tulips with the expectation to sell at a higher price became bankrupt. This led to a financial meltdown.

Watch this video documentary about Tulip Mania - The first economic bubble.

#2. The Panic of 1772

Event

This was also known as the Panic of 1772 or the Credit crisis. It originated in London when one of the partners in a major bank Neale, James, Fordyce, and Down, escaped to France having forfeited £ 300000.

Consequences

The bank collapsed, and people lost faith in the banking institution, which was the economy's pivot. This crisis later spread across Europe after the bank collapsed in London, followed by 20 other banks. The total number of bankruptcies in London was 556 in 1773.

Watch this video:

#3. The Panic of 1797

Event

This recession occurred in the US as the land speculation bubble burst after the American Revolution. The aftermath of the UK and France wars led to the insolvency of the Bank of England, and the impact swam itself to the shores of North America and the Caribbean.

Consequences

These events together led to this great financial panic. It lasted three years until 1800, and although the situation began to improve thereafter, it had a lasting impact on people's minds.

#4. The Post Napoleonic depression of 1815

The Post Napoleonic depression of 1815

Event

After the Napoleonic wars, in England and Wales, there was a steep cut in wages, and especially the weavers were greatly impacted due to this. Their wages fell to less than half of what they used to earn before this period. This percolated slowly to the entire textile industry and then to the economic situation across the countries.

The condition was further aggravated due to the Corn Laws, which were passed at this time. The intent was to keep out foreign goods and promote English agriculture, which was already impacted due to depression. This resulted in people having to buy poor quality local products at high prices.

Consequence

A famine and unemployment followed, which also spread to Scotland. This depression led to the collapse of export markets and saw its effect on the Panic of 1819 in the United States.

#5. The great depression 1929

The great depression 1929

Event

This recession, considered one of the worst recessions in the world, provided a textbook case study on financial crises. It lasted from 1929 to 1939, and it occurred in two phases: 1929 to 1933 and then again from 1937 to 1939. The intervening years had seen some growth in production due to a change in leadership on the political front in the US.

The recession had started with the fall of Wall Street. The over-optimistic loans by bankers led to a shortage of money supply when the lenders defaulted on payments. Loans were called in, and it affected the entire system. Lack of regulations, fiscal policies, deposit insurances led to this large-scale collapse.

Consequences

The Great Depression of America caused wide-scale unemployment, poverty, and emigration away from the USA. There was a massive price deflation (Willard W. Cochrane, Farm prices: myth and reality (U of Minnesota Press, 1958), and crop prices fell below 60%. The impact was seen worldwide, and unemployment rose to 25% in the US and up to 33% worldwide.

#6. The weird 1945 recession

The weird 1945 recession

Event

This recession started in February 1945 and lasted through the eight months to October 1945. The impact, however, lasted much longer. This recession was expected following World War II, and there was a much-seen drop in demand for wartime goods, including weapons.

Consequence

Other countries reeled under the impact of the war and were still recuperating from their losses while the US GDP fell to a negative figure of -11.6% in 1946. Government spending was also greatly reduced, and the effect was seen in the economy.

#7. The oil crisis of 1973

The oil crisis of 1973

Event

This was one of the most dangerous crises in the world that led to one of the top 10 recessions in the world. The OPEC members (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) revolted against the USA and the allied nations of the US. The United States of America had sent armed troops to Israel against the Arab countries.

Consequence

The majority of the OPEC members are constituted by the Gulf countries or the Arab nations. They joined hands to raise the price of oil. This, in turn, created a huge shortage of oil supply, and the energy industries were directly impacted. Also, the other businesses suffered, and huge inflation was caused, which proved to be drastic for the world's economy.

The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997

The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997

Image source 

Event

Overextension of financial credit in Thailand and all its trading economies led to this critical situation in Asia. It began in Thailand in 1997 when it had to give up the fixed exchange rate with American dollars owing to a lack of foreign currency supply.

Consequence

This had a domino effect on the South East Asian partners of Thailand - Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Hongkong, and soon, the word spread out about the sad plight of these economies. The situation continued for the next three years, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had to step in to bail them out of a financial meltdown.

Watch this video

#9. The Lost Decade (1990 - 2000)

The Lost Decade (1990 - 2000)

Event

The fall of land and asset prices in Japan in the early 1990s is referred to as The Lost Decade, which made the prices stagnant for a decade, and several firms went insolvent. It lasted until 2001 and witnessed one of the major slowdowns of a rapidly growing economy.

Consequence

The four years before the decade saw dangerously inflated stock prices, and this precarious bubble was burst in 1991, and land prices dropped to more than 15.5% from their peak. (Land Economic and Construction and Engineering Industry Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2004) Survey on average housing land prices by use and prefecture). Japan's GDP fell from $5.33 trillion to $4.36 trillion from 1995 until 2000.

Watch this video:

#10. Great Recession of 2007 - 2008

The Great Recession of 2008 in numbers

Event

This is the most recent financial recessions the world has seen and one of the fiercest since the Great Depression. The hallmark event that marked the onset of this depression was the collapse of one of the world's biggest investment companies - Lehman Brothers.

The Housing Bubble in the USA was created due to the optimism of the banks and lending institutions that led to huge credit which created a huge void due to the defaulters.

Consequence

The entire financial system collapsed, and the government buyout was required to save face. This impacted several international businesses and led to the downfall of companies, loss of jobs. It took almost another five years to recover from the losses completely.

Watch this video where Warren Buffett explains the 2008 financial crisis:

VICE on HBO looks at factors that led to the 2008 financial crisis and the efforts made by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner, and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to save the United States from an economic collapse. The feature-length documentary explores the challenges these men faced, as well as the consequences of their decisions.

#11. The Mother of All Recessions - 2020

According to UniCredit specialists, the world is heading to a deep recession. So deep that they say in a report, you can check here that “The mother of all recessions has arrived.”

They expect most containment measures in the US and Europe to last through June and the global GDP to fall by about 6%. In the US, the economy will likely shrink by 10-11% this year, and in the eurozone, GDP may contract by about 13% in 2020. Speaking about the UK, there is also a shrink of GDP by 10-11%.

For comparison, the global GDP contracted by 4.2% between Q4 2007 and Q2 2009.

We will update the article with further developments. Meanwhile, check our top of 18 businesses that are recession-proof and will thrive.

Conclusion

In almost all of the above cases, the recessions have been caused due to overvaluation of commodities, unjustified optimism on the stock increase, irregular banking systems, or political misguidedness.

With time, better financial system regulations have been able to get a grip on the economy. It has helped prevent a steady economic downfall or a total collapse of the financial system.

Organizations like the IMF (International Monetary Fund) exist to monitor global economic changes. But recessions are periodic, and completely avoiding one has not been possible. Uncontrollable situations like an epidemic, natural disasters, or calamity can throw an economy off balance, and an unpredictable financial crisis could arise.

Sources:

• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dutch_tulip_bulb_market_bubble.asp
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_1772
• https://www.google.ae/publicdata/explore
• Frank, Robert H.; Bernanke, Ben S. (2007). Principles of Macroeconomics (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.)

Tax havens are places where wealthy people keep money in offshore accounts for reasons especially related to tax avoidance. These people often own money in companies registered in places like the Cayman Islands and other small, low-tax jurisdictions in remote locations.

CORPNET, a corporate research group based in Amsterdam, has ranked the most important tax havens in the world based on how much money enters the country compared to how much it should depend on the size of its economy.

Most of the top tax havens are island nations such as the British Virgin Islands, Samoa, and Malta. Here is the top of tax havens made by CORPNET.

15. Seychelles

Formerly a colony of the United Kingdom, Seychelles is an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles was blacklisted in the EU as a tax haven in 2015 but was later moved to the "gray list" after making some tax reform commitments.

14. Cyprus

Cyprus is investigating several corruption allegations related to its "golden passport" program, which offers citizenship to foreigners who invest at least $ 2.2 million in real estate or local businesses.

13. Nauru

Nauru, a Pacific island in northeastern Australia, is the smallest independent republic in the world, with a population of less than 10,000. In 2001, the country was blacklisted internationally, with suspicions that it had become a money-laundering center. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced in 2017 that Nauru is making progress on fiscal transparency.

12. Luxembourg

Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in the world, largely due to its financial sector, which accounts for 35% of its GDP. Since 2002, the Luxembourg government has implemented several policies aimed at attracting foreign direct investment. But Luxembourg has lost some favorable tax advantages in recent years, following pressure from the EU and the OECD.

11. Mauritius

Mauritius, an island country on the southeast coast of Africa with a population of about 1.4 million, is home to more than 32,000 offshore entities. It encouraged foreign investment as early as the late 1980s and early 1990s when it adopted the Mauritius Offshore Business Act. This allowed the incorporation of foreign entities with low financial information and extremely low taxation. Mauritius was one of 30 countries registered as a tax haven by the EU in 2015, but the EU removed it from the list in October 2019.

10. Malta

Malta is an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea south of Italy, with a population of about 450,000. According to the BBC, Maltese companies pay the lowest profit tax of any EU country. Local businesses pay a 35% profit tax, but foreign corporations pay up to 5%.

09. Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands, a chain of islands in the central Pacific between Hawaii and the Philippines, was under US administration for nearly 40 years before gaining independence in 1986.

The island nation of about 76,000 people was one among the countries on the blacklist of tax havens in 2015. But the EU decided in 2019 to remove it from this list after the administration decided to outlaw companies created to avoid paying tax contributions and are made under false identities.

8. Curacao

Curacao, a Dutch island in the Caribbean, is known as an offshore financial center. In 2017, it was put on the EU's "gray list," It was shown that it needed to improve its fiscal policy to comply with EU transparency regulations.

7. Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein, one of the few mainland countries on the list, has a thriving financial services sector and one of the world's highest per capita income levels. According to the EU, it also served as a tax haven and was blacklisted in 2015. Liechtenstein has agreed to take some measures to prevent tax evasion but still has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in Europe and the world.

6. Samoa

In 2015, the island state of the South Pacific ranked first in the top of the most secretive nations in the world when it comes to keeping information of people who own companies and money in this country. Samoa is also on the EU's blacklist of global tax-havens.

5. The Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands is one of the most famous tax havens in the world because it has no profit tax, no personal income tax, and no capital gains tax. In October 2019, the Cayman Islands promised to reveal the identities of each person who owns a company there by 2023.

4. Bermuda

The British island's economy, which is home to about 71,000 people, is mainly based on insurance and other financial services. In 2016, Oxfam ranked Bermuda first in the top of tax havens and was one of the 30 countries registered as a tax haven by the EU in 2015.

3. Jersey

Jersey, one of the Channel Islands between England and France, has a reputation as a tax haven since the very wealthy British began moving there and transferring their money to the island in the 1920s to take advantage of its lack of taxes on wealth and inheritance.

2. Taiwan

Taiwan is a disputed nation between China, which claims it as one of its territories, and local authorities, which see itself as an independent democracy that supports human rights issues. The EU called Taiwan a potential tax haven in 2017, but it was blacklisted in 2019 after it pledged to reform its tax system.

1. The British Virgin Islands

The world's main tax haven, the British Virgin Islands, has more than 5,000 times more money than the value of its economy. In 2017, British Virgin Islands officials released a report claiming that British territory is not a tax haven but a strong contributor to the global economy and a facilitator of international trade and investment.

The EU has given the British Virgin Islands until the end of 2019 to adopt tax reforms to avoid the 2020 blacklist of tax havens.

Willing to send and receive money from anywhere in the world within seconds?

Then, you have landed on the right page to get reliable guidance for your international money transaction. This article will take you through the world’s most secure payment services that are trusted and recommended by the industry experts.

No matter if you are doing international export-import business, sending or receiving money from a family member, working online as a freelancer, doing online business etc. you just need a reliable payment gateway to get your hard-earned money in your hand.

I saw a lot of people (mostly freelancers) who got stuck at the stage of getting money, they worked so hard and completed the project but at the end, they faced tremendous problem while having their payment.

Even some of them, paid almost 40-50% as fee just to get their money. Even, I suffered from having no secure payment service at the beginning of my online career. Surely, I don’t want you to have the same trouble that many of us faced.

Go through this carefully picked, list of most secure payment services that will make your transaction-related works pretty easier and faster. You are just one step behind from getting money from anywhere in the world with a press of a button.

List Of Best Secure Payment Services

1. PayPal

For merchants who are looking for a low-volume payment processor, PayPal has proven to be a solid choice since it debuted in 1998. On top of having budget-friendly prices, PayPal operates in more than 200 countries and in 26 currencies and allows users to integrate PayPal checkout on their websites, process payments through a browser, app or reader and extend credit to customers.

The best part of Paypal is, transfer of money is pretty faster but high transaction fee is a pain in the ass for some people. However, in USA transactions among family members are totally free of cost.

2. Stripe

There isn’t such a thing as a “one-size-fits-all” payment processor for online retailers. However, Stripe gets awfully close, thanks to being a customizable payment solution.

Stripe was designed for developers who can then tinker with the company’s APIs to create the product that best suits their needs. Stripe allows you to accept credit card, debit card and bitcoin payments from more than 130 different currencies. There’s also flexible billing and a modest 2.9 percent + 30¢ per successful card charge.

3. Payoneer

Payoneer is by far the best secure payment service due to having integration with dedicated MasterCard which can be used anywhere in the world.

Apart from that, you will be having a virtual bank account that accepts 5 different currencies and can use bank wire transfer for money transaction. However, customer service of Payoneer has room to improve.

• Availability: 200+ Countries
• Fee: 2-5% per transaction

4. Visa

VISA is the most used payment card in the world. It can't operate independently, as it needs to be issued by a financial organization such as Bank or Payment gateway.

VISA card can be both credit and debit based on which one you issue and it can be both National and International. In order to make Int. transactions, your VISA card must support duel currency (or at least USD).

• Availability: All Countries
• Fee: based on issue

5. Mastercard

MasterCard can be called the twin of VISA card as there is no real difference between them except the name itself. You can do the transaction from any ATM booth in the world with your MasterCard, as MasterCards er usually issued for International use.

Still, you need a Bank or Payment gateway to have your own MasterCard. As you already know Payoneer is integrated with MasterCard, you can sign up for a Payoneer account to have one.

• Availability: All Countries
• Fee: based on the issue

6. Skrill

It was the most popular payment service in the beginning of Freelancing industry but for strong competitors, it has lost its dominant position.

However, still many rare marketplaces including the popular one use Skrill for secure transactions. You can directly withdraw your money via local bank using this payment service. You can also use it to buy cryptocurrency as most of the sellers accept Skrill payment.

• Availability: All Countries
• Fee: 1.9% per transaction

7. Neteller

If you want to enjoy the power of MasterCard without even having any physical card then Neteller is for you. It works as the virtual MasterCard and pretty popular in Forex and Binary trading industry. You can easily send and receive money from other Master and VISA cards via Neteller. Having your own real plastic card is possible but you have to spend some bucks for that.

• Availability: All Countries
• Fee: 3.5% per transaction

8. Bitcoin

I am not kidding, you read me right. Bitcoin is the highest value currency right now in the world having a market cap of 218 BIllion and growing. Now a days, Bitcoin is widely accepted all around the world and even it's being used in some country's retail industry. However, to store and spent your Bitcoins you need to use a reliable wallet such as Ledger Wallet (Physical) or Exodus (Virtual).

• Availability: All Countries
• Fee: 0% per transaction

9. AliPay

Its logo says everything; no matter where are you living you are daily using products made by the largest economy, China. AliPay can be considered the doorway to do any type of transaction from or with someone who lives in China. This is owned by Alibaba Group, the world's largest online retailer. Although, AliPay has over 500 million users but not widely accepted by international companies due to china focused transactions.

• Availability: 110+ Countries
• Fee: 2.2-3% per transaction

If you are into gaming you should take a look into Enjin. Made explicitly for the video gaming industry, Enjin token depends on Ethereum blockchain. Up until now, this project has already proved to be helpful for 20+ mln players from all over the world to make networks and discussions connected with their preferred computer games.

To start with, options can be acquired and sold dependent on a broad range of root assets. Along with foreign currency pairs, binary options are now able to be traded on plenty of key world indexes, commodities like oil, precious metal and silver, and the common stocks of several foreign corporations.

Last Ideas Trading binary choices, much like any other type of investment, includes its very own unique benefits and disadvantages.

Binary Options Investing Benefits

Binary options are not the same as traditional alternatives. They provide investors with the ease and the accessibility to trade on the market and earn by enabling these to spend from any place not having a lot of experience in the field.

Binary options could be used to gamble, but they're also able to be used to create investments based on value and expected profits. When you confirm the varieties of binary options you want to put money into, it is vital to get a solid and trustworthy option indicators provider.

The binary options are just like regular forex options. You only need to have an expiration date and a strike price.

The tough part about trading is absolutely following your trading rules as soon as they are set. Binary trading doesn’t need to be complicated, but just like any subject, you might educate yourself to be a professional and perfect your abilities.

Click the hyperlink below to see just how simple it is actually to get started with binary trading. The simple fact that binary options trading can be achieved with less than a few dollars means you have some room to experiment and see what is going to work best for you.

If you assume that binary options trading is a thing for you, take a look at our broker reviews and discover the perfect broker to commence trading with! Binary options trading, although it is a really profitable investment opportunity, the same as all other investments, it offers quite a great deal of risk involved. It allows you to follow the changes which occur on the marketplace and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Perhaps the hardest part of trading is subsequent your trading rules when you have already set them. Binary options trading is an amazingly intriguing topic. Binary Option Auto Trading is an on the web trading program to get more profits easily.

Conclusion

Trading can be easy but identifying the patterns that bring about a thriving trade can prove to be an overwhelming undertaking.

It can be intended for anybody wanting to get into trading and frequently, brokers do not need a big preliminary deposit to establish a merchant account and get started trading.

Additionally, options trading can provide a much superior risk vs reward ratio in the event the appropriate trading strategies are employed.

Therefore, it is actually reasonable to express that mastering the binary options trading is no easy undertaking, and there's unquestionably a lot to learn.

Still, binary options trading is all about earning and based on the asset you have selected, and you can win big.

Sending money abroad may not be the most difficult financial transaction to do. But it can still be a tricky one if due attention is not paid to the little details around it.

Here are a few pointers at the mistakes that could happen in a foreign currency money transfer.

#1 - Not doing a comprehensive comparison of possible service providers

It is not just your neighbourhood bank or your long-time banker who is authorised to send your money abroad. Sure, they are always the first and trusted point to head for, especially when your money is right there. T

he big, established names like NAB, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, and Westpac, have been around for a long time.

Just as dependable as the banks is an entity like Australia Post. There are the larger international chains like Western Union and MoneyGram with a sizeable network both in Australia and abroad.

Then there are authorised, peer to peer companies who specialise in foreign currency transactions, including sending money abroad. Names like World First, CurrencyFair, TransferWise, Moneycorp, Torfx, OFX, HiFX and PayPal are some of the larger ones to consider.

#2 - Thinking exchange rates are mostly uniform across options

Exchange rates keep fluctuating and the rates themselves can vary across providers. Without taking your bank or any other for granted, shop around to understand the band in which the best exchange rates are being offered.

Of course, do check with your banker first to understand the day’s rates. For instance, if you are a commonwealth bank customer, the cba exchange rates offered to you could be competitive when compared to what the other banks offer.

Rates also vary between what the bank sells and buys. Besides, there are variable rates for cash, wire transfer and cheques.

As mentioned in the first point, there are entities besides banks you can use to send money abroad. Make sure you check the rates published by your own bank and the competition, besides the other available options.

#3 - Failing to understand the complete fee structure

It is not just the variations in the exchange rates offered that should be the basis of deciding who to go with.

Make sure you ask for the fee structure of the provider and compare it with what others charge. Typically, banks have fees that are on the higher side, given the personalised service they provide to customers.

These could eat into the amount you are transferring, thereby reducing what reaches your beneficiary.

This is where an online transfer company could look more attractive. These, usually, are low on transfer charges and that could well be a savings worth considering. Some providers even have attractive offers that could even include a first time free or even a lifetime free feature.

Do look out for the threshold clauses. Some providers do offer low or no charges at various transaction levels.

#4 - Not understanding the actual turnaround time of the transaction

To ensure that your urgent transaction happens on time, do read the terms and conditions and check for the turnaround time for the money transfer. While most transfers do get credited to the target account between one to two days, if not instantly, it is best to be sure.

Online transactions, typically, are faster. But check for any clauses or conditions on the rates or minimum amount considerations.

#5 - Not verifying the money transfer details

Now that due diligence on the various options and the exchange rates and the fees has been taken care of, what else could go wrong?

Don’t forget to review the basic information on the form being filled up. Mistakes like mentioning the wrong account number, getting the bank details incorrect or an error in the amount can result in problems ahead.

If funds get credited to a wrong account, it can be a big task chasing the unintended beneficiary to return the amount. And if it is pending credit at the overseas bank, it still means time and effort lost in follow-ups to retrieve your money. Wrong BIC/Swift codes or IBAN numbers can also delay the whole process.

#6 - Not considering foreign currency regulations

Transacting in foreign currency is a sensitive area and comes for scrutiny. When sending money overseas, not being aware of the laws and the required process can be a big mistake.

Transfers over $10,000 are monitored by AUSTRAC and you may need to provide supporting information if called for. The tax implications, too, need to be considered when sending or receiving large or frequent foreign currency transactions.

It is best not to transact on behalf of a third party, whether individual or company. At the same time, be aware and on your guard if you are transacting with an unknown beneficiary. Also, attempting to send money to a country on a sanction list could have serious consequences.

It is possible to see your money transfer through without any of the above hitches. Sending money abroad needs some groundwork and attention but mistakes can be avoided here too.

For detailed information on best exchange rates and more tips on money transfer, click here.