#fdic bank

[joinhighcircle]

Detecting and Preventing Business Fraud

Fraud poses a significant threat to businesses of all sizes, undermining trust, financial stability, and reputation. In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the risk of fraud is ever-present, making it imperative for organizations to adopt robust strategies for detection and prevention. A few proactive steps for preventing fraudulent activities and safeguarding assets include:

Strengthening Internal Controls Strengthening internal controls is crucial. Ensure no single employee controls all aspects of critical transactions. Require management approval for significant transactions and regularly reconcile bank statements, accounts receivable, and payable ledgers to promptly identify discrepancies.

According to the ACFE, organizations across various industries lose an estimated $4.7 trillion annually to occupational fraud globally, amounting to approximately 5% of their revenue. The average loss per case is $1,783,000, while the median loss is $145,000.

Educating and Training EmployeesEmployees are the first line of defense against fraud. Educating them about common fraud schemes and training them to recognize and report suspicious activities is essential. Promoting a culture of honesty and integrity reduces the risk of fraud within the organization. According to a 2020 ACFE report, businesses with fraud awareness training receive 56% of their fraud tips from trained employees, compared to 39% from companies without training.

Enhancing Cybersecurity Measures Invest in real-time fraud detection systems that monitor transactions and flag unusual activities. Use data analytics to identify patterns that may indicate fraudulent behavior. Protect digital assets with robust cybersecurity measures like firewalls, encryption, and multi-factor authentication.

Conducting Regular AuditsRegular audits are essential for detecting and preventing fraud. Internal audits ensure compliance with controls and identify financial irregularities. External auditors provide unbiased reviews and offer assurance to stakeholders. Unannounced audits catch unnoticed fraudulent activities, enhancing fraud detection.

Staying Informed About Fraud TrendsStay informed about the latest fraud trends and prevention techniques. Keep up with industry news on emerging fraud schemes, join professional organizations, and provide ongoing training for employees to keep them updated on new threats.

Fraud prevention is an ongoing process that demands vigilance, education, and the right tools. Remaining proactive and committed fortifies your business against fraud, protecting assets and reputation while fostering long-term success and stability.

In today's digital landscape, a bank must prioritize stringent cybersecurity measures to safeguard customers' sensitive information. High Circle excels in this regard, conducting regular infrastructure audits, implementing robust fraud monitoring systems, employing industry-standard data encryption protocols, enforcing multi-factor authentication, and providing dedicated white-glove customer support. 

High Circle’s robust security measures include: Infrastructure Audits

Regular audits ensure our systems meet the highest standards.

Fraud Monitoring

Continuous monitoring designed to detect fraud.

Industry Standard Data Encryption

Your data is encrypted to Industry Standards i.e. ISO 27001.

Multi-factor Authentication

An extra layer of security for your account.

Secure Login & Device Verification

Designed so that you can access your account securely.

White Glove / Concierge Customer Support

Get personalized customer support M-F, 8-5 CT. Leave message after hours and weekends and holidays.

Experience peace of mind with High Circle’s platform. High Circle ensures that your personal and financial information is safeguarded with the utmost care.High Circle Inc. is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured depository institution. All deposit products and services are provided by FirstBank, a Tennessee Corporation, Member FDIC. Funds in your deposit account are insured up to $250,000. The FDIC's deposit insurance coverage only protects against the failure of the FDIC-insured depository institution.

[zvaigzdelasas]

It's wild how with 1 million dollars you could literally gain an average US income doing nothing but purely collecting interest on a 4% savings account. Then there's people with like. Thousands or tens of thousands of those.

[liveleaker]

the best part about being an adult is learning which federal agencies you can use to threaten businesses trying to fuck you over

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Adam Clark Estes at Vox:

Some people collect coins or stamps. For a time, I collected debit cards. Not stolen ones! Each one of them had my name on them, right below the logo of the latest banking app I’d decided to try out: Venmo, Cash App, Chime, Varo, Current, Acorns. For the better part of a decade, I did all my banking through these apps, enjoying their slick user experience and lack of fees. The problem with every one of them, however, is that they’re not chartered banks. If the company behind the app went bankrupt, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would not necessarily come to my rescue. This disaster scenario was a hypothetical worry when I eventually settled for Chase and its FDIC insurance. For millions of others, it became a reality earlier this year when a company called Synapse collapsed and froze them out of their accounts. Users of Yotta, a popular savings app with a built-in lottery, and other apps that relied on Synapse to help manage their accounts couldn’t access their money for months. Now, as hundreds of thousands of Synapse customers’ dollars remain in limbo, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are calling for banking reforms, and the FDIC is proposing changes to its rules.

Still, a growing number of people are embracing these financial technology, or fintech, services. More than a third of Gen Z and millennials used a fintech app or a digital bank as their primary checking account, according to a 2023 Cornerstone Advisors study. So some questions are worth asking: Is it a bad idea to use an app like Venmo as your main bank? Are digital banks like Chime trustworthy enough? The answer to both questions is yes. Venmo is not a bank, and using it as your primary checking account comes with some risks. Some fintech companies, like Chime, are just as big as traditional banks and offer some nice perks. Again, because they’re nontraditional, there are risks. “You’re not going to go back to a world where everybody works with a small bank and walks into a branch,” Shamir Karkal, co-founder of Simple, one of the first digital banks. “The future is just going to be more fintech, and I think we all just need to get better at it.”

Neobanks and money transmitters, briefly explained

The term fintech can refer to a lot of things, but when you’re talking about everyday services for everyday people, it typically refers to either neobanks or money transmitters. Chime is a neobank. Venmo is a money transmitter. They’re regulated in different ways, but because most of these companies issue debit cards, many people treat them like checking accounts. Fintech apps are not the same thing as FDIC-insured banks.

Neobanks are fintech companies that offer services like checking accounts in partnership with chartered banks, which are FDIC-insured. Neobanks sometimes enlist intermediaries known as banking-as-a-service, or BaaS, companies, which are not FDIC-insured. Still, you will often see the FDIC logo on neobank websites, just like you see it stuck to the glass doors of many brick-and-mortar banks. That logo instills trust, and thanks to their partnerships, neobanks can claim some FDIC protections. But because they do not have bank charters, these neobanks and BaaS companies are not directly FDIC-insured. Instead, neobank customers can be eligible for something called pass-through deposit insurance coverage.

[...] Money transmitters, also known as money services businesses, are even further removed from the perceived safety of the FDIC. Put bluntly, if you’re keeping all your money in a Venmo or Cash App account, you don’t qualify for FDIC insurance. Money transmitters are not neobanks or banks at all but rather completely different legal entities that are regulated by individual states as well as the Department of the Treasury. There are certain protections provided by these agencies, but FDIC insurance is not one of them. So when an app like Yotta or Chime says on its website that it’s FDIC insured, it’s not a lie, but it’s not necessarily true either. Venmo, to its credit, admits in the fine print of its homepage that its parent company PayPal ��is not a bank” and “is not FDIC insured.” To confuse you even more, however, certain PayPal services that enlist a chartered bank partner, like a PayPal Mastercard or savings account, might qualify for FDIC insurance. Again, it depends.

[...] That doesn’t necessarily mean that all neobanks and fintech companies are untrustworthy. In some cases, the sheer size and track record of fintech companies can instill quite a bit of trust. Chime, the largest digital bank with roughly 22 million customers, scored a $25 billion valuation in its latest round of funding and is planning to go public next year. Venmo’s parent company, PayPal, is widely considered safe and trustworthy. And don’t expect Block, the $42 billion company that owns Cash App as well as its own chartered bank, to fail any time soon. The truth is, even if there is some false sense of security, fintech apps offer certain customers features that big banks can’t or won’t. One thing that’s made Chime and many other neobanks so popular, for instance, is that they don’t charge so many fees. That’s a huge boon to young people as well as people without bank accounts. If a fintech app is your only option, then you might not care so much about FDIC insurance.

“If you’re poor in America and you’re banking at Chase or Wells Fargo, you’re going to get overdraft fees, minimum balance fees,” Mikula explained. “So there is a real need that [fintech] companies fulfill as a result of your establishment banks essentially not wanting to bank poor people because it’s difficult to do profitably.” As many as 6 percent of Americans were living without a bank account in 2023, according to Federal Reserve data. That share grows to 23 percent for those making less than $23,000 a year. The unbanked population, which disproportionately comprises Black, Hispanic, and undocumented people, is at a greater risk of falling victim to predatory lending practices, including payday loans. Some fintech companies also offer short-term loans, though they’ve been criticized for being predatory as well.

If you have Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, or any fintech or digital banking app, be aware: don’t use them as your primary checking account.

[bitchesgetriches]

Hey bitches - I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but I've been wanting to open a HYSA. How can you tell if a place is legit? For example, Credit Karma has one, American Express, etc, and I'm like... these are legit companies, yes, but are they legit for a savings account? Or is that best left to a bank?

Darling child, this is NOT a stupid question. It's a brilliant question! Especially in these dangerously scammy times.

The simple answer is to make sure the financial institution is FDIC-insured. The FDIC provides deposit insurance to protect your money in the event of a bank failure. Your deposits are automatically insured to at least $250,000 at each bank or financial institution where it's housed.

We go into more detail on how to evaluate a bank right here, sweet pea:

How the Hell Does One Open a Bank Account? Asking for a Friend.

From HYSAs to CDs, Here's How to Level Up Your Financial Savings 

10 Ways to Spot Financial Scams and How to Defend Yourself 

If you found this helpful, consider joining our Patreon.

[forbidden-interlude]

Moved the bulk of my savings into a hysa and that is literally so scary. Not the hysa just transferring in general.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By Gary Wilson

In the current crisis, the banks hold the government hostage. They demand anything and everything to "bail us  out, or we will take you down with us." As long as capitalism rules, the bankers are not lying when they say this. On March 12, the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation unveiled a plan to rescue uninsured depositors, Semafor reports. Only customers with deposits $250,000 and below are insured by the FDIC. But by invoking a “systemic risk exception,” they’ll now be able to cover larger accounts, which make up a much higher percentage of SVB’s deposits than most banks.

[ilivewithintheshadows]

Daddy's gotta be honest kitten. I think my work is gonna be shut down by the FDIC by the end of the summer.

[joinhighcircle]

[chronomally]

I always love when people are like "You wouldn't rob a bank!" Beloved, your money is insured up to $250,000. You lose nothing

[misforgotten2]

US Post Office First Day Covers   1978 - 1984

[nicklloydnow]

“Big banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. are vying to buy First Republic Bank in a deal that would follow a government seizure of the troubled lender, according to people familiar with the matter.

A seizure and sale of First Republic by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. could come as soon as this weekend, the people said.

The San Francisco-based bank has teetered for weeks following the March 10 failure of fellow Bay Area lender Silicon Valley Bank. The SVB meltdown spurred panicky First Republic customers to pull around $100 billion in deposits in a matter of days.

The stock has lost some 97% of its value since.

(…)

A seizure and sale of First Republic would cap the astonishing collapse of a lender that was, until recently, the envy of finance. With some $233 billion in assets at the end of the first quarter, it would be the second-largest bank to fail in U.S. history.”

“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has asked banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., US Bancorp and Bank of America Corp. to submit final bids for First Republic Bank by Sunday after gauging initial interest earlier in the week, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The regulator reached out to banks late Thursday seeking indications of interest, including a proposed price and an estimated cost to the agency’s deposit insurance fund. Based on those submissions Friday, the regulator invited some firms to the next step in the bidding process, the people said, asking not to be named discussing the confidential talks.

(…)

JPMorgan is among a small number of giant banks that have already amassed more than 10% of nationwide deposits, making the firm ineligible under US regulations to acquire another deposit-taking institution. Authorities would have to make an exception to allow the country’s largest bank to get even bigger.”

[cyborgrhodey]

preaching to the choir here but loving the tech bro pundits going like "should depositors really be punished for trusting banks????" as if nobody was alive in 2008

[rincewindsapprentice]

Two minor things I wish were a bit clearer to people about the American political system:

Lawmakers will often propose bills that have no hope of passing in order to make a political statement, appeal to a specific electoral demographic, or appeal to their donors/lobbyists. Just because a super progressive or absurdly fascist bill is proposed does not automatically mean it will leave committee (i.e., will not face a full vote) or even have a hope of passing.

The FDIC is funded entirely by banks themselves. It is insurance, after all. Taxpayers only indirectly fund it by having their money in a bank. The recent "bailouts" of Silicon Valley Bank and the other failures were to cover the deposits of clients not to bail out the bank. Those deposits were more than covered by the large amount of money the FDIC has been able to accumulate over the years. While deposits above $250,000 aren't automatically guaranteed by the FDIC, they can still be covered if the FDIC has the money. It is, once again, insurance after all.

[businessbigwigs]

First Republic Bank Bailout

First Republic Bank Bailout

First Republic Bank will be getting a $30 billion rescue package from other major banks, after two other major banks failed this week. First Republic Bank is based in San Francisco, and serves mostly venture capital-backed companies and tech startups. Before this week, it had deposits totaling over $175 billion. But like many other similar banks, it has recently seen a major run of withdrawals.…