Bank finance articles and tips

It's easy to open a basic online trading account. If you are seeking more complex types of transactions, you'll also run into more complex requirements. Here's what to expect.

Basics

For starters, you must have name, address, phone number, a Social Security number, and a residential address in the United States of America. There are certain brokerages that will ask for a form of photo identification, such as a passport or your driver's license. This is required for them to comply with the US Patriot Act....

Demand deposit accounts (DDAs) are evolving. With traditional decisioning software, consumers had wait time involved when opening a demand deposit account--they had to wait to find out if they were approved and if they were they had to wait to start using the account. However, now with new solutions, financial institutions (FIs) can use automated decisioning to open accounts effectively and efficiently and realize profits in the process. Automated decisioning is used to not only analyze consumer data to find out if they are credit-worthy, but is also used to incorporate steps into the decisioning process that enhance the customer experience, builds deeper relationships, and increases profitability for FIs.

People get IRS problems for the smallest things-neglecting to file taxes on time, not filling out the tax forms appropriately, rounding up the indicated income amounts, you name it. But perhaps the worst "small" thing a person can do that can get him into a lot of snowballing tax problems is to ignore a notice that lands on his doorstep. The IRS is reaching out to you: don't ignore them.

But what do you do when you open that notice and find out there's been an irregularity with your tax returns?