Word: checking
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...halcyon days of the '60s. Rising ocean temperatures, compounded by other man-made factors, like pollution and overfishing, have been catastrophic for the earth's coral. "I grew up diving and snorkeling all over the world," says Gregor Hodgson, executive director of the coral monitoring organization Reef Check Foundation. "Those reefs are all gone...
Ironically, banks have long benefited indirectly from the thriving check-cashing industry by supplying the loans and cash that check cashers use to pay these same customers. ACE Cash Express, which has more than 1,700 outlets across the country, works with Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Union Bank and others. Banks have shied away from serving the unbanked population directly because this slice of the market clashes with their business model. Banks get much of their profit from the interest they earn by lending out the money held in long-term deposits, but check cashers depend on a high volume...
...manage an account, they need to do a better job adapting their business to what this population truly needs. For one thing, the overdraft and late fees that banks pile on are an unacceptable risk to the unbanked, who can't afford to lose access to their funds. Check cashers prefer the term self-banked for these customers and say they are wise to steer clear of banks for exactly these reasons. "Check cashing is very popular because even though the costs are very high, there is certainty to it," says Prahalad...
...banks and check cashers, the serious competition will come over the next year as Wal-Mart rolls out more than 1,000 dedicated check-cashing outlets in its stores, charging a flat fee of just $3 per check. Check cashers have already responded by sprucing up their offerings. Pay-O-Matic, which operates 100 outlets in New York City, recently launched a debit card that earns 3% annual interest on the unused balance. (Wal-Mart's debit card, on the other hand, does not earn interest.) With such nimble competitors, banks will have to move faster than ever...
...have been more than 150 aftershocks, some measuring close to a magnitude 6 on the Richter scale. "I have not been able to reach my sister, who lives in a dangerous area," said Esther Tapia, a Lima homemaker who was heading to a shantytown on Lima's outskirts to check on relatives. "What would happen if these [earthquakes] continue...