Retailers have long relied on credit cards and companies like Paypal to provide payment options for customers, but recently these services have faced some new competition. Firms like Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay offer “buy now, pay later” models that can be an appealing alternative to credit cards. As the video below shows, though, these services could potentially be dangerous to consumers while also failing to maintain steady profits for investors.

Questions:

  1. What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of using Continue reading
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Over the last few years cryptocurrency has gone from the fringes of finance to the mainstream, complete with celebrity Super Bowl ads and widespread interest from Wall Street. But while more people know about crypto than ever before, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a safe investment. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans have lost more than $1 billion to cryptocurrency scams since the beginning of last year. In fact, crypto con jobs now account for a fourth Continue reading

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August 13, 2020

In recent years, banks across the country have either phased out coin services or started charging fees for counting change. At Community State Bank in southeastern Wisconsin, for instance, the institution usually charges non-customers a 10 percent service fee for coin counting. But that certainly wasn’t the case a few weeks ago when Community State Bank had to beg people to bring in spare change to offset a coin shortage that has developed during the pandemic. 

In fact, the Continue reading

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February 18, 2020

Rather than worry about having cash on hand, many American consumers now prefer to use credit or debit cards as their preferred methods of payment. Companies are usually happy to oblige cashless customers since cards are easy to process and keep busy lines moving. In fact, a number of retailers and restaurants across the country have switched to cashless payment models that rely entirely on cards or mobile apps. According to consumer advocates and lawmakers, however, these businesses could be Continue reading

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March 8, 2019

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, approximately 29 percent of Americans said that they don’t use cash for any purchases during a typical week. Instead, they depend on credit and debit cards as well as mobile payment apps like Apple Pay. These increasingly cashless consumers are becoming so common that some companies have stopped accepting paper and coin money for the sake of efficiency. For instance, in 2016 the salad chain Sweetgreen announced it was going cashless in Continue reading

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January 14, 2016

This short video shows what happens to a person’s money in the very, very unlikely event that they win the lottery.

 

Questions:

  1. As the video says, you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than win the lottery, so why do people play it?
  2. Which option ensures that a lotto winner gets the most money from their prize: the cash payout or the annuity jackpot?

 

From CNN Money

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