Following the budget yesterday and the reference to banking governance, it can be no co-incidence this report is released today. (ht finextra)

The Task Force for the Payments System Review has found that unless Canada develops a modern digital payments system, Canadians will be unable to fully engage in the digital economy of the 21st Century‚ leading to a lower standard of living across the country and a loss in international
competitiveness.

Moreover, the Task Force found that a thoroughly modernized payments system could save the Canadian economy as much as two per cent of GDP in productivity

Canada considers itself to be ahead of the curve on digital usage so it is refreshing to see this.

Twenty-seven European Union countries, the BRIC countries‚ even Peru and Romania‚ are significantly outpacing Canada’s transition to digital payments, with obvious negative implications for Canada’s global competitiveness and interoperability.

There are three recommendations.

• Implement electronic invoicing and payments (EIP) for all government suppliers and benefit recipients.

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Prepaid cards are becoming increasingly popular but the market needs to be compared first before consumers invest in them. 

A new Consumer Reports analysis of prepaid cards has revealed that fees are beginning to come down but consumers need to be aware of these fees before investing in the card. 

Traditional debit cards linked to bank checking accounts do offer stronger protection than most prepaid cards.

Prepaid cards are an alternative to credit cards and bank debit cards for consumers that do not qualify or are wary of using credit or debit cards. 

There popularity is said to be as a result of the convenience they bring consumers as they can be used to make purchases in stores and online, receive direct deposits, pay bills online and withdraw cash from ATM machines.

Debit and credit cards offer guaranteed protection for when the card is stolen or used in an unauthorised transaction and if the card provider goes out of business. 

However, according to an analysis issued, Consumer Reports found prepaid cards do not offer the same protection if the card is lost or stolen. Som

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It’s getting close to tax time, and that means a lot of people who are in bankruptcy, or considering it, may have questions about the way their taxes are affected by their financial situations. Vincent Howard and our Redlands personal bankruptcy attorneys were thus interested to see a timely ruling on tax refunds from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In In re Salazar, Timothy and Gena Salazar originally filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but eventually converted to Chapter 7. While the Chapter 13 was still in effect, however, they received and spent tax refunds on their living expenses. After the conversion, Chapter 7 trustee Lawrence Warfield moved to compel them to turn over the amount of the refunds, but the bankruptcy court found it was no longer part of the estate. In this opinion, the BAP of the Ninth Circuit agreed.

The Salazars, of Arizona, filed for bankruptcy in September of 2008. In their petition, they did not disclose that they had tax refunds coming, despite language expressly mentioning such refunds. They later received refunds of their 2008 federal and state taxes, and spent them on living expenses, without amending their bankruptcy schedules to disclose them.

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Do you have a question about consumer credit? You may find an immediate answer by using the search engine. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please fill out the form, being as specific as possible.

Please note: The Ask Experian team cannot respond to each question individually. However, if your question is of interest to a wide audience of consumers, the Experian team will include it in a future column.

I am active duty military and anticipating a permanent change of station this year. I am considering doing a VA compromise sale on my home in Tucson, as it is underwater. I am current on the payments and am wondering how much a VA comp sale will hurt my credit?

The term “short sale” or “compromise sale” is used to describe an agreement between you and your lender to sell the house for less than is owed on the mortgage. Neither term appears in a credit report.

Instead, the mortgage account may be reported as “settled,” or “settled for less than full balance.” It will also show any history of missed payments. Even if you remain current leading up to the sale, any account not shown as” paid in full as originally agreed” is considered negative. A mortgage debt not

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A hundred years ago, monetary policy – control over interest rates and the availability of credit – was viewed as a highly contentious political issue. People on the left of the political spectrum feared the central bank would be used to prop up Wall Street banks; those on the right thought it would unduly expand the role of government, giving too much power to politicians.

In the 1980s we entered a phase in which the Federal Reserve, along with other major central banks around the world, was seen as independent and run by technocrats supposedly immune from political pressure.

But in the light of the crisis of 2008 and its aftermath, we have to ask: Has our central bank fallen back under the influence of special interests?

The origins of the Federal Reserve System lie in an emotional debate, conducted more than 100 years ago, about whether the government should seek to affect interest rates – and support the credit of Wall Street firms during times of crisis – and, if so, how.

The Panic of 1907 convinced many people that the United States needed a central bank of some kind. A complete collapse of the financial system was too scary a prospect. But the

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