In can be really hard for anyone to get a bank account in the UK nowadays. With the bank sometimes wanting two forms of ID, and a utility bill, and maybe even a reference, it can make things tough for some people to open up an account.
I moved to England, from Belfast, last year with a friend to start new jobs here. We both first of all needed to open bank accounts to deposit our wages into. For my friend it was really hard - because we rented our accommodation and the rent included bills, we didn’t have any utility bills in our name. There were other problems, but this was a main one - a stupid rule that discriminates against renters.
I say that it was really hard for my friend, but it was even more difficult for me. Because I have dual nationality and chose to travel on an Irish passport the banks would not take this as verification of my ID. So, even though I am a British citizen, unless I show a British passport the banks will not try to confirm my identification and turned me down straight for a bank account.
Although I was having more problems, my friend wasn’t able to open a bank account either. So here we were - two successful men in two good jobs, who just weren’t allowed to open a bank account in England because of a lot of red tape.
My friend got lucky - after a long time of stress and unhappy phone calls he went online and got a Barclays current account online. Me however, I gave up. I have to use my Ulster Bank account for my wages to be paid to me. Although I can use my bank card here to withdraw money here I am very limited to the services I can use from over here.
So, I ask what, kind of shambles is the British banking system that two British citizens can have such problems in simply opening an account?
About the Author:
Michael Hanna is a keen writer, and internet marketer living in Scotland.
Contact details: E-mail: samqam@googlemail.com Phone: 0131 561 2251 Michael's Website: Taxi Belfast
Article Source: ezinearticles.com
Fortune.com has released its list of 500 world’s largest corporations and for this year Toyota Motor Corporation the producer of Toyota 4Runner parts has climbed two notches from number 8 to number 6.
Here are the top 50 companies included in Fortune’s 500 World’s Largest Corporations with their corresponding revenues in $ millions:
1 Wal-Mart Stores: 351,139.0
2 Exxon Mobil: 347,254.0
3 Royal Dutch Shell: 318,845.0
4 BP: 274,316.0
5 General Motors: 207,349.0
6 Toyota Motor: 204,746.4
7 Chevron: 200,567.0
8 DaimlerChrysler: 190,191.4
9 ConocoPhillips: 172,451.0
10 Total: 168,356.7
11 General Electric: 168,307.0
12 Ford Motor: 160,126.0
13 ING Group: 158,274.3
14 Citigroup: 146,777.0
15 AXA: 139,738.1
16 Volkswagen: 132,323.1
17 Sinopec: 131,636.0
18 Crédit Agricole: 128,481.3
19 Allianz: 125,346.0
20 Fortis: 121,201.8
21 Bank of America Corp.: 117,017.0
22 HSBC Holdings: 115,361.0
23 American International Group: 113,194.0
24 China National Petroleum: 110,520.2
25 BNP Paribas: 109,213.6
26 ENI: 109,014.2
27 UBS: 107,834.8
28 Siemens: 107,341.7
29 State Grid: 107,185.5
30 Assicurazioni Generali: 101,810.7
31 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.: 99,973.0
32 Carrefour: 99,014.7
33 Berkshire Hathaway: 98,539.0
34 Pemex: 97,469.3
35 Deutsche Bank: 96,151.5
36 Dexia Group: 95,846.6
37 Honda Motor: 94,790.5
38 McKesson: 93,574.0
39 Verizon Communications: 93,221.0
40 Nippon Telegraph & Telephone: 91,998.3
41 Hewlett-Packard: 91,658.0
42 International Business Machines: 91,424.0
43 Valero Energy: 91,051.0
44 Home Depot: 90,837.0
45 Nissan Motor: 89,502.1
46 Samsung Electronics: 89,476.2
47 Credit Suisse: 89,354.4
48 Hitachi: 87,615.4
49 Société Générale: 84,485.7
50 Aviva: 83,487.0
Top 50 of Fortune Global 500 List of Profitable Companies in the world with their corresponding profits in $ millions:
1 Exxon Mobil: 39,500.0
2 Royal Dutch Shell: 25,442.0
3 UAL*: 22,876.0
4 BP: 22,000.0
5 Citigroup: 21,538.0
6 Bank of America Corp.: 21,133.0
7 General Electric: 20,829.0
8 Gazprom: 20,321.3
9 Pfizer: 19,337.0
10 Chevron: 17,138.0
11 HSBC Holdings: 15,789.0
12 ConocoPhillips: 15,550.0
13 Total: 14,764.7
14 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.: 14,444.0
15 Toyota Motor: 14,055.8
16 American International Group: 14,048.0
17 China National Petroleum: 13,265.3
18 Petronas: 12,862.8
19 Petrobras: 12,826.0
20 Microsoft: 12,599.0
21 Altria Group: 12,022.0
22 Royal Bank of Scotland: 11,762.2
23 ENI: 11,564.1
24 Wal-Mart Stores: 11,284.0
25 Johnson & Johnson: 11,053.0
26 Berkshire Hathaway: 11,015.0
27 BHP Billiton: 10,450.0
28 GlaxoSmithKline: 9,915.0
29 UBS: 9,776.6
30 ING Group: 9,650.8
31 Goldman Sachs Group: 9,537.0
32 Santander Central Hispano Group: 9,530.3
33 International Business Machines: 9,492.0
34 BNP Paribas: 9,169.0
35 Credit Suisse: 9,034.8
36 Crédit Agricole: 8,975.8
37 Allianz: 8,808.9
38 Procter & Gamble:8,684.0
39 Wells Fargo: 8,482.0
40 Barclays: 8,410.0
41 Samsung Electronics: 8,301.9
42 Telefónica: 7,820.2
43 Wachovia Corp.: 7,791.0
44 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group: 7,532.2
45 Deutsche Bank: 7,510.3
46 Merrill Lynch: 7,499.0
47 Lukoil: 7,484.0
48 Morgan Stanley: 7,472.0
49 Rio Tinto Group: 7,438.0
50 AT&T: 7,356.0
While most people tend to use the terms charge card and credit card to mean the same thing, this is not the case. Both allow the user to do different things with their finances; offering flexibility as well as convenience for larger purchases. However, before you sign up for either, you’ll want to consider these differences.
Charge card
A charge card is a credit card that allows you to make purchases at a variety of locations. You will charge the amount to the charge card and then receive a bill at the end of the billing cycle. While most people believe that this acts in the same way as a credit card, when the bill comes, the user must pay it off in full. A charge card does not allow the user to carry balances from month to month. There is also no limit to the charges that can be made.
Of course, this also means that the charge card does not have interest charges, but this can be difficult for a cardholder that needs to extend the payments of their purchase.
Credit card
Most everyone has a credit card in their wallet or purse. A credit card allows the user to make purchases without cash at a variety of locations. The cardholder will accrue a balance throughout the billing cycle and then receive a bill at the end of the month. Charges can carry over from month to month and will accrue interest until the full amount is paid off.
The interest rates vary from card to card. And while the entire balance does not have to be paid off each month, there is a minimum payment that cardholders are expected to make.
In both cases
The use of a charge or credit card allows the cardholder to increase their credit rating and get better interest rates on future loans. But if you’re prone to being behind with payments, a charge card might be a better way to limit your spending. Since you’ll have to pay it all back each month, you won’t have to worry about having a balance that continues to accrue interest, even when you’re not spending.
But if you like the flexibility of not having to pay off balances each month, then a credit card is the better option. In terms of keeping your credit rating high, you’ll want to make timely payments as well as keep the balance to less than half of the limit that you are given.
Beth Derkowitz recommends Find Credit Cards for finding an HSBC Bank credit card that’s right for you.
Article Source: ezinearticles.com|
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