Balance transfer

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A balance transfer is the transfer of (part of) the balance (either of money or credit) in an account to another account, often held at another institution. It is most commonly used when describing a credit card balance transfer.

Video Balance transfer

How it works

Balance transfer allows people to move their debts such as credit card balances, student loans, home loan medical bills, car loans to a zero or lower interest rate credit card for a promotional or limited period. The overall amount and the types of balances that can be transferred depends on the credit card as well as credit score. Moreover, balance transfer should be done as per the timings allocated by the credit card company.

While many credit card issuers offer 0% interest balance transfers, it is important to note that some issuers also charge a transfer fee, which could range from 0-5%. As a result, consumers should evaluate the balance transfer interest rate during the promotional period, the length of the promotional period, and the balance transfer fee when deciding on which balance transfer promotion is best.

Maps Balance transfer

Types

There can be transfers between two similar types of accounts or different ones. These include:

• Credit card accounts
• Bank savings accounts
• Bank checking accounts
• Trading accounts at financial institutions

Transfers are sometimes facilitated by companies trying to recruit new consumers. Sometimes transfers are accompanied by transaction costs paid by the consumer.

src: cache-blog.credit.com

See also

• Credit card balance transfer

src: www.rcbcbankard.com

References

Source of article : Wikipedia

Asset freezing

src: www.kiplinger.com

Asset freezing is a legal process which prevents a defendant (usually an apparent fraudster) to an action from dissipating their assets from beyond the jurisdiction of a court so as to frustrate a potential judgment. It is widely recognised in other common law jurisdictions and such orders can be made to have world-wide effect. It is variously construed as part of a court's inherent jurisdiction to restrain breaches of its process.

The jurisdiction arises in part from the Judicature Act 1873, which provided that "A mandamus or an injunction may be granted or a receiver appointed by an interlocutory Order of the Court in all cases in which it shall appear to the Court to be just or convenient..." Relying on this, Jessel MR in 1878 declared, "I have unlimited power to grant an injunction in any case where it would be right or just to do so..."

Video Asset freezing

Origins in Mareva

The legal order itself is in the form of an injunction, which in Commonwealth jurisdictions is also known as a freezing order, Mareva injunction, Mareva order or Mareva regime, after the case Mareva Compania Naviera SA v International Bulkcarriers SA, although the first recorded instance of such an order in English jurisprudence was Nippon Yusen Kaisha v Karageorgis, decided one month before Mareva. The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 now define a Mareva injunction as a "freezing order".

Asset freezing is not a security, nor a means to pressure a judgment debtor, nor is it a type of asset forfeiture since it does not confer upon anyone else a proprietary interest in the defendant's assets. However, some authorities have treated the Mareva injunction as an order to stop a judgment debtor from dissipating his assets so as to have the effect of frustrating judgment, rather than the more strenuous test of requiring an intent to abuse court procedure. An example of the former would be paying off a legitimate debt, whereas an example of the latter would be hiding the assets in overseas banks on receiving notice of the action.

A freezing order will usually only be made where the claimant can show that there was at least a good arguable case that they would succeed at trial and that the refusal of an injunction would involve a real risk that a judgment or award in their favour would remain unsatisfied. It is recognised as being quite harsh on defendants because the order is often granted at the pre-trial stage in ex parte hearings, based on affidavit evidence alone.

A Mareva injunction is often combined with an Anton Piller order in these circumstances. This can be disastrous for a defendant as the cumulative effect of these orders can be to destroy the whole of a business' custom by freezing most of its assets and revealing important information to its competitors, and the two orders have been described by Lord Donaldson as being the law's "nuclear weapons."

Application

While it is not advisable to obtain such an order on purely strategic grounds, asset freezing has a persuasive effect on settlement negotiations. While a claimant obtaining an order can expect to face subsequent opposition in court from the defendant, the freezing order is generally considered to be the beginning of the end for the defendant, and negotiation and settlement avoid the return to court.

Current orders issued by the court do not generally call for a blanket freezing of assets, and they are currently worded in more nuanced terms according to the situation concerned.

The process is regarded as a high-stakes exercise for several reasons:

1. The application is almost always made without notice, to prevent the fraudster defendant from spiriting away their assets before the freezing order is granted. Applicant's counsel is therefore required to make full and frank disclosure of all material facts, and the applicable law, to the court.
2. As with most injunctions, the applicant must provide an undertaking to the court to compensate the defendant for any damage caused by the order.
3. A freezing order that is improperly or sloppily obtained, or one that is drafted too broadly or imprecisely, will cost the party, and its counsel, heavily in terms of credibility with the court.

Extension to EU

Similar provision can be found in the exercise of:

• "arrestment on the dependence" under Scots law and
• saisie conservatoire under French law.

It has been extended to other members of the European Union, by virtue of Article 9(2) of the Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Since January 2017, a uniform European Account Preservation Order has been implemented in all EU member States (other than Denmark and the United Kingdom).

United States

Mareva was rejected by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1999 in Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo, S.A. v. Alliance Bond Fund, Inc. For the majority, Justice Scalia held that, as such jurisdiction did not exist at the time of the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the federal courts had no authority to exercise it. In dissent, Justice Ginsburg asserted that the federal courts' exercise of its equity jurisdiction was never that static. While Grupo Mexicano is consistent with other Supreme Court jurisprudence in the matter of preliminary injunctions, there has been debate as to whether this decision should be reversed.

At the state level, the New York Court of Appeals reached a similar conclusion to that of the Supreme Court in 2000, in Credit Agricole v. Rossiyskiy.

In place of Mareva, US civil jurisprudence relies more on prejudgment writs of attachment, preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders, which have a more limited scope of application.

Maps Asset freezing

Nature of order

Although it is mistakenly believed that a freezing injunction provides security over the defendant's assets for a possible judgment, or secures a judgment already obtained, Lord Donaldson MR explained in Polly Peck International Plc v Nadir that such is not the case:

In 2007, Lord Bingham declared:

Current scope

In Group Seven, Hildyard J outlined the current scope of freezing orders that can be issued by the Court:

1. It is designed to prevent injustice to a successful claimant by preserving assets and funds from being disposed of or dissipated before a judgment is satisfied.
2. "His assets" refers to "assets belonging to that person, not to assets belonging to another person" and without words clearly extending the scope of the phrase "his assets", assets owned beneficially by someone else will not be subject to the freezing order.
3. A freezing order is a precautionary measure taken urgently to protect the claimant against the risk of dissipation, disposal, reduction in value, or loss of assets pending a fuller examination as to what assets would in reality be available to the claimant for the purposes of enforcing a judgment.
4. If the words are ambiguous, or admit of a more restrictive interpretation, so that it is arguable whether or not the assets in question fall within their scope, the court is unlikely to treat a dealing with such assets as a contempt of court.
5. "Assets" also covers assets which are not in the legal ownership of the defendant but in respect of which the defendant "retains the power to direct how the assets should be dealt with."
6. The phrase "his assets" is extended to include also "assets held by a foreign trust or a Liechtenstein Anstalt when the defendant retains beneficial ownership or effective control of the asset."
7. It is clear that those words in the standard form do not extend to assets of which the defendant remains the legal owner but holds for the benefit of someone else.
8. If it is desired and found appropriate to extend the scope of the injunction to assets held in trust (in the case of a façade or sham), additional wording must be included to make that clear, and the Court will only do this sparingly.
9. As to piercing or lifting the corporate veil, ownership and control of a company are not themselves sufficient to provide justification for that course, even when no unconnected third party is involved and it might be perceived that the interests of justice would be served by it.
10. Even where the circumstances are such as to justify the exceptional step of piercing or lifting the corporate veil, the effect is not to alter the beneficial ownership of the company's assets: it is simply to provide for such asset to be available in defined circumstances to the claimant.

In 2014, Lakatamia emphasized that the assets of a company wholly owned by a person subject to a freezing order are not automatically subject to the order. In that case, Rimer J noted:

However, the person's shares in the company are subject to it, and any conduct by him (not in the course of ordinary business) that diminishes the value of those shares will infringe that order.

Chabra relief

Subsequent jurisprudence has extended the reach of freezing orders to third parties against whom there is no substantive cause of action, but where there is good reason to suppose that their assets may in truth be the assets of the defendant against whom a cause of action is asserted. This type of order is known as Chabra relief, and has been described as possessing certain characteristics:

1. It may be exercised where there is good reason to suppose that assets held in the name of a defendant against whom the claimant asserts no cause of action (the NCAD) would be amenable to some process, ultimately enforceable by the courts, by which the assets would be available to satisfy a judgment against a defendant whom the claimant asserts to be liable upon his substantive claim (the CAD).
2. The test of "good reason to suppose" is that of a good arguable case.
3. The jurisdiction will be exercised where it is just and convenient to do so.
4. Assets will be treated as in truth the assets of the CAD if they are held as nominee or trustee for it as the ultimate beneficial owner.
5. Substantial control by the CAD over the assets in the name of the NCAD is often a relevant consideration, but substantial control is not the test for the existence and exercise of the Chabra jurisdiction. It is relevant where there is a question of beneficial ownership, and where there is a real risk that assets may be dissipated in the absence of a freezing order.

Available alternatives

Depending on the circumstances, alternative types of orders may be more attractive to an applicant:

1. orders preserving property or securing a specified fund (where the balance of convenience favours making such an order),
2. a proprietary injunction (i.e., one that covers a specific asset or assets, as opposed to the defendant's assets in general),
3. the appointment of a receiver to hold assets of the defendant (where the injunction is insufficient on its own and where there is a measurable risk that a defendant will act in breach of the injunction), or
4. the appointment of a provisional liquidator (where the applicant is likely to obtain a winding-up order on the hearing of the petition).

A "third party debt order" (which consists of an interim freezing order and a final order requiring the third party to pay the debt to the judgment creditor) is available to secure payment of county court judgments.

src: www.kyivpost.com

Extrajudicial application: "Mareva by letter"

Informal de facto freezing may also be undertaken in most common law jurisdictions by a third-party guardian or assetholder, where he has been informed that those assets are imposed with a constructive trust in favour of someone other than the apparent owner. The freeze may be effected by issuing a letter to the asset holder or guardian in question, informing them of the true origin or beneficial ownership of the targeted funds or assets, and advising them of their potential accessory civil and possible criminal liability in the event of any transfer or disposal of the assets in question. Such devices may be employed in cases where a victim of fraud suspects that targeted funds or assets may be transferred to another location where it might be impractical to gain access to them. However, the use of this technique within the United States is not generally accepted.

src: i0.wp.com

Further reading

• Collins, Lawrence (1989). "The Territorial Reach of Mareva Injunctions". Law Quarterly Review. 105: 262-299. ISSN 0023-933X.
• Harris Bor (2014). "Freezing orders in support of arbitration proceedings". Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. Butterworths. 29 (1): 43-45. ISSN 0269-2694.
• Crerar, David (2017). "Mareva and Anton Piller Preservation Orders in Canada: A Practical Guide". Irwin Law.
• McGowan, D. Ross; Crerar, David (2010). "Mareva Injunctions can stop Fraudsters cold" (PDF). Borden Ladner Gervais.

src: www.slate.com

See also

src: www.sott.net

References

Source of article : Wikipedia

Google Voice

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Google Voice is a telephony service that provides call forwarding and voicemail services, voice and text messaging, as well as U.S. and international call termination for Google Account customers in the U.S. and Canada. The service was launched by Google on March 11, 2009, after the company had acquired the service GrandCentral.

Google Voice provides a U.S. telephone number, chosen by the user from available numbers in selected area codes, free of charge to each user account. Calls to this number are forwarded to telephone numbers that each user must configure in the account web portal. Multiple destinations may be specified that ring simultaneously for incoming calls. Service establishment requires a United States telephone number. A user may answer and receive calls on any of the ringing phones as configured in the web portal. During a received call the user may switch between the configured telephones.

Users in the U.S. may place outbound calls to domestic and international destinations. Calls may be initiated from any of the configured telephones, as well as from a mobile device app, or from the account portal. As of August 2011, users in many other countries also may place outbound calls from the web-based application to domestic and international phone numbers.

Many other Google Voice services--such as voicemail, free text messaging, call history, conference calling, call screening, blocking of unwanted calls, and voice transcription to text of voicemail messages--are also available to U.S. residents. In terms of product integration, transcribed and audio voicemails, missed call notifications, and/or text messages can optionally be forwarded to an email account of the user's choice. Additionally, text messages can be sent and received via the familiar email or IM interface by reading and writing text messages in numbers in Google Talk respectively (PC-to-Phone texting). Google Voice multi-way videoconferencing (with support for document sharing) is now integrated with Google+ Hangouts.

The service is configured and maintained by the user in a web-based application, styled after Google's e-mail service, Gmail, or with Android and iOS apps on smart phones or tablets. Google Voice currently provides free PC-to-phone calling within the United States and Canada, and PC-to-PC voice and video calling worldwide between users of the Google+ Hangouts browser plugin (available for Windows, Intel-based Mac OS X, and Linux).

Almost all domestic and outbound calls to the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) and Canada are currently free from the U.S. and Canada, and $0.01 per minute from everywhere else. International calls are billed according to a schedule posted on the Google Voice website.

Late in 2009, Google Voice had approximately 1.4 million users, of which 570,000 used the service 7 days a week. This number rose markedly after Google made the transition of its Google Voice service from "invitation only" to be available to all Gmail subscribers in the United States. A Wired blog post quoted a figure of 3.5 million in 2013.

Google Account customers in most other countries other than the U.S. and Canada may only access the call termination services through the integration with Google Hangouts.

Video Google Voice

Overview

Google provides free PC-to-PC voice calling worldwide. As described above, Google Voice users in many countries may make low-cost calls to international phone numbers, and currently may also make free PC-to-phone calls within the United States and Canada. Vincent Paquet, a co-founder of GrandCentral who became a senior product manager at Google, said in 2009 that he expected Google Voice domestic service to remain free because the cost of operation is so low and, "We can generate enough revenue from international calling to support the service." Several years after this prediction, the service remains free of charge.

A Google Voice local phone number for incoming calls is currently available only for users in the United States. Users may select a single U.S. phone number from various area codes. Incoming calls to the number may ring simultaneously any of the user's configured phones or the account's Google Talk feature. Based on the calling number, or contact group (e.g., Family, Friends, Work), or on time of day (e.g., disabling a home phone during business hours and routing calls to mobile or business number), individual numbers may be configured to ring. The service also features voicemail with indexable automated voicemail transcription, accessible via a web browser, e-mail, or by phone. Google Voice provides automatic blocking of known numbers, e.g., telemarketers, the ability to switch lines in mid-call, differentiated voice mail greetings based on caller, Short Message Service (SMS) forwarding, and call recording.

Previously, customers of Gizmo5, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) service vendor acquired by Google, were allowed to forward calls to their Gizmo service which may be answered using a free computer application, or a web application, or SIP-based telephone hardware. Google discontinued Gizmo5 service on April 3, 2011.

There are several competing virtual number services, such as eVoice. Personal numbering services have been available in the United Kingdom since 1993, similar to the AT&T True Connections 500 service offered in the 1990s in the United States. AT&T's service required the direct involvement of AT&T to change the phone number list, while the Google service is user-configurable on the web application.

The original voice of GrandCentral and Google Voice belonged to actress and voice-over artist, Laurie Burke [1], but has been replaced with recordings by Kiki Baessell, a Googler who had no experience in professional voice-overs, but was chosen because of her pleasant, familiar voice.

Maps Google Voice

History

Origin

GrandCentral, founded in 2005 by Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet with funding by Minor Ventures, was acquired by Google on July 2, 2007, for US$95 million in a transaction led by Miles Agha. Although Grand Central users were able to continue to use the service after the purchase, new users were not accepted, and Google made no public statements about their plans for the service. On March 11, 2009, the management of the service revealed that the team had been working on it throughout that period, apparently in secret, and that it was being rebranded "Google Voice". It was to keep most of the functionality originally offered in GrandCentral and add new features.

Google transition

Google Voice was launched on March 11, 2009, based on GrandCentral, with new features, including voicemail transcriptions and SMS managing. However, GrandCentral's Ringback Tone feature was not transitioned over to Google Voice. Google transitioned former GrandCentral accounts to Google Voice and announced that the service would start accepting new members "within weeks" of the announcement. On June 25, 2009, NBC's Today Show stated that Google Voice would be available nationwide on that day. Google confirmed this in a Twitter message stating: "Google Voice on NBC Today Show. Invites to people on reservations list starting to go out today." The expansion was at first limited to users queued on the invitation list. Users with paid-in balances also received a limited number of invitation opportunities.

On July 1, 2009, Google Voice provided the option for users to change their service phone number for a U.S. $10 fee.

On September 15, 2009, GrandCentral calling services were discontinued. Subscribers who used the website could still log into the site to retrieve old messages and data. After termination of GrandCentral phone services, users who haven't moved over to Google Voice were still advised to upgrade their account to Google Voice.

Gizmo5 acquisition

On November 12, 2009, Google announced that it had acquired Gizmo5 for a reported U.S. $30 million in cash. A major effect of this announcement was that Gizmo5 suspended new signups pending re-launch by Google. Google was reported to be working on a desktop application, though rumors also circulated that the project had been scrapped in favor of a browser-based solution. On August 26, 2010 Gmail accounts with Google Voice were given a function to make and receive calls. Google Voice product manager, Vincent Paquet, confirmed that this function was added through the help of the technology received after the Gizmo5 acquisition. In 2011, the Gizmo5 site closed service to its registered members. As of January 2012, the website is no longer available.

Open availability

On June 22, 2010 Google Voice dropped the requirement for invitations to become a subscriber, and the service became available to anyone in the USA with a Google account.

Rejection from the iPhone app store

On July 27, 2009, Apple Inc. rejected a Google Voice app that had been submitted by Google six weeks earlier. Other apps created for use with Google Voice, such as GVdialer, GV Mobile and VoiceCentral, were removed from the App Store. Apple states that the reason for the rejection and removals is that these apps replaced certain iPhone functions and features.

A Google spokesman released this statement on the matter:

We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Apple Inc. did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users - for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened an inquiry regarding the rejection of Google Voice for the iPhone. "The FCC asked why Apple rejected the Google Voice application for the iPhone and removed related 'third-party applications' from its store." The FCC has also requested Google to submit a letter describing the application of Google Voice. "The request is part of a broader-ranging inquiry by the commission on exclusive deals between cell phone carriers and handset manufacturers for hot phones."

In their response to the FCC, Google stated that the Google Voice application uses the carrier's voice network to place phone calls, dispelling misconceptions that it is a Voice over Internet Protocol application. AT&T stated that they had no role in approval or rejection of the Google Voice application. Apple stated that they had not rejected the application but were continuing to examine it. One argument against allowing the Google Voice app on the iPhone is that they are concerned that it replaces the iPhone user interface with its own; however many dialers and messaging apps are available from the app store.

As a result of rejection from the Apple Store, Google released its Google Voice iPhone application as a web app in January 2010, and certain apps like GV Mobile are available through Cydia on jailbroken iPhones.

In September 2010, Sean Kovacs, creator of the app GV Mobile +, announced on his Twitter that Apple had re-accepted the application, and it has since been available for purchase on the Apple App Store. This is the second Google Voice service app available in the Apple's official application store for a year and a half, released just a day after "GV Connect" had been available.

In November 2010, the official Google Voice iPhone application became available in the App Store in the United States, but was still not available in other countries.

Google Hangouts

In September 2014, certain Google Voice features were integrated into the Google Hangouts application, an instant messaging client, which is a replacement for Google Talk.

2017 update

In January 2017, Google made the first significant updates to Google Voice in approximately five years for Android, iOS, and the Web. The user interface was overhauled with Material Design. Group and photo MMS became natively supported in Voice, not depending on Hangouts integration. Voicemail transcription for Spanish was introduced, and Google promised to provide new updates and features.

src: www.phonedog.com

Features

Features of Google Voice, many retained from GrandCentral, include:

• A single Google forwarding number to all of the user's phones
• Unlimited free calls and SMS within the U.S. and Canada, up to three hours in individual length.
• Calling international phone numbers with rates starting at US$0.01 per minute
• Call screening. Announcement of callers based on their number or by an automated identification request for blocked numbers
• Listening in on someone's recording of a voice message before taking a call (press 2 while answering, * to "pick up")
• Blocking calls from specified numbers
• Blocking calls from numbers identified by Google as telemarketers
• Send, receive, and store SMS/MMS online
• Answering incoming calls on any configured phone
• Call routing. Selection of phones that should ring based on calling number or time of day.
• Ringing all of a user's specified phones simultaneously, routing calls to the phone that is answered.
• Voicemail transcripts. Reading of voicemail messages online
• Listening to voicemail online/via app or from a phone call to your account
• Notification of voicemail messages via email or SMS
• Personalized greetings based on calling number
• Forward or downloading of voicemails
• Conference calling (press 5 when answering call)
• Call recording and online archiving (press 4 while on a call)
• Switching of phones during a call
• Viewing the web inbox from a mobile device/phone
• Customize preferences for contacts by group
• Initiating and receiving calls via VoIP
• Ability to change your number for a fee
• Ability to port your mobile number for a fee
• Specifying an existing phone number instead of the Google Voice number on initial setup for use with limited functionality, such as some voicemail functions and using the voice mail system for the user's phone number (mobile devices only).

While many customers in countries beside the United States have been grandfathered into Google Voice services, the features are reduced and customers are often charged for calls to their own countries. Currently Google Voice PC-to-phone calling works only for calls into the United States and Canada or for domestic or international calls from the United States and Canada; Google plans to implement this for other countries, but a time frame has not been released. A U.S. telephone number is required to obtain a Google Voice phone number for redirecting incoming calls.

Caller ID

As a call forwarding service, Google Voice also forwards the caller line identification (CLID or caller ID) of incoming calls to the user's telephone service. A user can choose whether to display a caller's CLID, or their Google Voice number, when receiving calls via the service.

Google Voice uses the caller's Google Voice number as the CLID on outgoing calls when the user places a call by calling the user's own Google Voice number and using the service's menu choices, or when the web-based account portal is used to place a call. With the introduction of the Google Voice application on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry phones, Google Voice users can directly dial from the Google Voice app with their Google Voice number as the outgoing CLID.

Mobile phone applications

Google Voice applications for Android and iOS can automatically place outgoing calls and texts via the user's Google Voice service. They will also manage incoming texts and calls should the user desire. This allows Google Voice subscribers to send and receive free text messages on their mobile phones without paying for a texting plan or incurring service charges from their mobile provider, so long as all texts are sent and received through one's Google Voice number and not the number provided by the cell phone company.

Although Google Voice's iPhone app is not available outside of the United States, several other Google Voice clients exist for users outside the USA. For example, the GrooVe IP Android client offers this.

Google Voice does not officially support SMS to phone numbers outside of the United States. As of 1 June 2010 Google had purposely blocked international texts, with the intention of reintroducing the service once billing systems are in place.

Integration into Gmail and Google Talk

When Google Voice was offered during beta testing, Gmail Labs offered an add-on so users could listen to voicemail messages in their Gmail inbox. Since August 26, 2010, U.S. Gmail users may place calls to the U.S., Canada, and international destinations from within Gmail. Calls to U.S. and Canadian phone numbers are free, while the cost of calls to international destinations starts at 1 cents per minute. This is possible with the help of a voice and video chat plugin for web browsers to connect to cameras, microphones, and speakers installed in the computer.

Users can also opt to have their text messages, transcribed voicemails (including an audio attachment), and/or missed calls forwarded to their Gmail account. Forwarded text messages emails can be replied to as if they were regular emails. Contacts' SMS capable phones can also be added to the user's Gmail address book or Google Talk buddy list so that text conversations can be initiated and sustained through these interfaces.

src: www.xda-developers.com

Limitations

No emergency calling

Google Voice refers to itself as an "enhanced call management application" and as such "is not capable of placing or receiving emergency services calls." Attempting to dial 911 in the U.S. indicates that the number is not valid.

Limited domestic SMS

Google Voice is unable to receive SMS messages from Apple iCloud Keychain.

Limited international texting service

Google Voice supports sending text messages to phone numbers in the U.S. and Canada, but users can receive text messages from anywhere in the world.

VoIP services

Google Voice permits Voice Over IP (VoIP) as a beta from both the web and Android clients. It formerly supported XMPP signaling but no longer does. However, it has been reported that at one time some users could receive calls with their Google Voice accounts via the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

Third-party devices

Hardware manufacturers such as Obihai Technology have created devices that enable the home user to use conventional wired telephone(s) to place and receive calls over their broadband connection through Google Voice, as well as other service providers.

Google Voice terminated support for some XMPP services in May 2014, disrupting service for 3rd party apps. Affected vendors included Talkatone, GrooveIP and Obihai. Obihai initially recommended its users to switch to rival providers but returned with official Google Voice support for its hardware analog telephone adapters on September 11, 2014.

Software manufacturers offer applications, such as PCPhoneSoft.com's "GVJack" App that converts magicJack dongles to use Google Voice. The GVJackApp for magicJack and the GVMate Phone Adapter are signalling independent and continued to work (using Google Hangouts) after support for XMPP was terminated.

Call forwarding and voicemail

If the telephone to which a call is forwarded does not connect within 25 seconds, then calls are routed to Google Voice's voicemail. Users who want calls to be picked up by their home, work, or mobile phone voicemail systems or answering machines must turn off call screening in Google Voice and make sure that their phone's voicemail systems or answering machines pick up before 25 seconds.

src: 9to5google.com

Support

Google Voice provides no direct phone support contact number. However, users can access the Google Voice Help Center FAQ, and use the free Google Groups official Google Voice product forum for support.

src: www.phonedog.com

Partners and infrastructure

Google Voice's partners that provide phone numbers, call-termination, call-routing, and other infrastructure include:

• Level 3 Communications
• Global Crossing
• Broadvox Communications
• Bandwidth.com
• Pac-West Telecom
• IBasis for international outbound call routing
• Neustar

In 2009, Google reserved 1 million telephone numbers with Level 3 Communications which were presumed to be for Google Voice.

src: www.extremetech.com

Dispute between AT&T and Google about call blocking

AT&T petitioned the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require Google (as it requires POTS providers) to allow calls to high-cost destinations, typically rural independent telephone companies with wholesale prices up to ten times above the national average. Google responded that it is not obligated to allow these calls.

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See also

• Bandwidth.com
• Burner (mobile application)
• Caller ID spoofing
• Comparison of VoIP software
• Level 3 Communications
• Public switched telephone network
• PrivatePhone
• Traffic pumping

src: www.webconfs.com

References

src: i.ytimg.com

External links

• Official website
• "Google Voice", and explanatory video from Google

Source of article : Wikipedia

Intuit

src: r3.cpapracticeadvisor.com

Intuit Inc. is a business and financial software company that develops and sells financial, accounting, and tax preparation software and related services for small businesses, accountants, and individuals. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California. More than 95% of its revenues and earnings come from its activities within the United States.

Intuit produces TurboTax, a consumer tax preparation application, the small business accounting program QuickBooks, professional tax solutions ProConnect Tax Online, ProSeries and Lacerte, and multiple payroll products. In April 2016, Intuit completed the sale of its original flagship product, Quicken, to H.I.G. Capital.

The company has offices in eight other countries around the world: UK, Australia, France, Singapore, India, Brazil, Canada, and Israel.

Video Intuit

History

The company was founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx in Palo Alto, California.

Intuit was conceived by Scott Cook, whose prior work at Procter & Gamble helped him realize that personal computers would lend themselves towards replacements for paper-and-pencil based personal accounting. On his quest to find a programmer he ended up running into Tom Proulx at Stanford. The two started Intuit, which initially operated out of a modest room on University Avenue in Palo Alto. The first version of Quicken was coded in Microsoft's BASIC programming language for the IBM PC and UCSD Pascal for the Apple II by Tom Proulx and had to contend with a dozen serious competitors.

In 1991 Microsoft decided to produce a competitor to Quicken called Microsoft Money. To win retailers' loyalty, Intuit included a US$15 rebate coupon, redeemable on software customers purchased in their stores. This was the first time a software company offered a rebate.

Roughly around the same time the company engaged John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and diversified its product lineup. In 1993 Intuit went public and used the proceeds to make a key acquisition: the tax-preparation software company Chipsoft based in San Diego. The time after the IPO was marked by rapid growth and culminated with a buyout offer from Microsoft in 1994; at this time Intuit's market capitalization reached US$2 billion.

When the buyout fell through because of the United States Department of Justice's disapproval, the company came under intense pressure in the late 1990s when Microsoft started to compete vigorously with its core Quicken business. In response, Intuit launched new web-based products and solutions and put more emphasis on QuickBooks and on TurboTax. The company made a number of investments around this time. Among others, it purchased a large stake in Excite and acquired Lacerte Software, a Dallas-based developer of tax preparation software used by tax professionals. It also divested itself of its online bill payment service unit and extended and strengthened its partnership with CheckFree.

In June 2013, Intuit announced it would sell its financial services unit to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $1.03 billion.

In June 2015, Intuit laid off approximately 5% of its workforce as part of a company reorganization.

As of May 2018, Intuit had more than US$5 billion in annual revenue and a market capitalization of about US$50 billion.

In August 2018, CEO Brad D. Smith announced that he would step down as Intuit's CEO at the end of 2018. The company announced that Sasan Goodarzi would become Intuit's CEO at the beginning of 2019. Smith will remain chairman of Intuit's board of directors.

Maps Intuit

Online communities

Intuit has several online communities, some of which offer integration or cross-sells into other Intuit products. QuickBooks online community for QuickBooks users and small business owners, Quicken Online Community for Quicken users and those who need help with the personal finances, and the Accountant Online Community and Jump Up. Each consists of blogs, an expert locator map and event calendar, forums and discussion groups, podcasts, videocasts and webinars and other user created content.

JumpUp (formerly JackRabbit Beta) is a free social networking and resources site for small business owners and/or start-ups. Free tools and services include an interactive business planner, online training for developing a successful business plan, starting costs calculator, cash flow calculator, break even calculator, templates for business planning and sample business plans.

Intuitlabs.com is a website Intuit created to get new solutions into people's hands quickly. The early versions of these products and services are called roughcuts, and they're offered for free so people try them and give feedback to enable rapid improvement and make sure they solve real problems well.

TaxAlmanac is a free online tax research resource. Content on TaxAlmanac is written by tax professionals from across the country and takes advantage of the knowledge of academia as well as practitioners. The site includes key information including the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, Tax Court Cases, and a variety of articles.

Modeled after English Wikipedia, TaxAlmanac was launched in May 2005. The June 6, 2005 edition of Time magazine featured an article entitled "It's a Wiki, Wiki World" on English Wikipedia in which TaxAlmanac was highlighted as "A Community of Customers". The November 21, 2005 edition of Business Week featured an article titled "50 Smart Ways to Use the Web" in which TaxAlmanac was selected as one of the 50. TaxAlmanac made the short list as one of the 7 in the collaboration category.

Intuit shut down TaxAlmanac effective June 1, 2014. Many of the users have migrated to a new site called TaxProTalk.com.

Zipingo was a free website where users could rate services such as contractors, restaurants, and other businesses. Ratings and comments were either entered from the website or through Quicken and QuickBooks. The site was closed by Intuit on August 23, 2007.

src: static.seekingalpha.com

Acquisitions and carve-outs

1990s

In 1993, Intuit acquired Chipsoft, a tax preparation software company based in San Diego.

In 1994, Intuit acquired the tax preparation software division of Best Programs of Reston, VA. In the same year, Intuit acquired Parsons Technology from Bob Parsons for $64 million.

In 1996, Intuit acquired GALT Technologies, Inc of Pittsburgh, PA.

In 1998, Intuit acquired Lacerte Software Corp., which now operates as an Intuit subsidiary. The Lacerte subsidiary focuses on tax software used by professional accountants who prepare taxes for a living. It is generally used by larger firms with more complex workflows and clients.

On March 2, 1999, Intuit acquired Computing Resources Inc. for approximately $200 million. This acquisition allowed Intuit to offer a payroll processing platform through its QuickBooks software program. In December 1999, Intuit purchased Rock Financial for a sum of $532M. The company was renamed Quicken Loans. In June 2002, Rock Financial founder Dan Gilbert led a small group of private investors in purchasing the Quicken Loans subsidiary back from Intuit.

2000s

2001, Intuit invests in UK market hiring local management team led by Stephen Lee, Managing Director & Neil Atkins, Marketing Director with an aim to become Europe's leading B2B & B2C packaged accounts solution.

In 2002, Intuit acquired Management Reports International, a Cleveland-based real estate management software firm. The firm was renamed Intuit Real Estate Solutions (IRES) and offers real estate management solutions for Windows and the web.

In 2003, Intuit Inc. acquired 'Innovative Merchant Solutions' (IMS). IMS provided merchant services to all types of businesses nationwide. The acquisition gave Intuit the ability to process credit cards through their core product, QuickBooks, without the need of hardware leasing. They can also provide traditional terminal based credit card processing and downloading transactions directly into the QuickBooks software.

In November 2005, Intuit acquired MyCorporation.com, an online business document filing service, for $20 million from original founders Philip and Nellie Akalp.

In September 2006, Intuit acquired StepUp Commerce, an online localized product listing syndicator, for $60 million in cash.

In December 2006, Intuit acquired Digital Insight, a provider of online banking services.

In December 2007, Intuit acquired Electronic Clearing House to add check processing power.

In December 2007, Intuit acquired Homestead Technologies which offers web site creation and e-commerce tools targeted at the small business market, for $170 million.

In April 2009, Intuit acquired Boorah, a restaurant review site.

On June 2, 2009, Intuit Inc. announced the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase PayCycle Inc., an online payroll services, in an all-cash transaction for approximately $170 million.

On September 14, 2009, Intuit Inc. agreed to acquire Mint.com, a free online personal finance service for $170 million.

2010s

On January 15, 2010, Intuit Inc. spun off Intuit Real Estate Solutions (which Intuit acquired in 2002) as a stand-alone company. The new company took on its previous moniker, and is now known as MRI Software.

On May 21, 2010, Intuit Inc. acquired MedFusion, a Cary, NC leader of Patient to Provider communications for approximately $91 million.

On August 10, 2010, Intuit Inc. acquired the personal finance management app Cha-Ching.

On June 28, 2011, Intuit Inc. acquired the Web banking technology assets of Mobile Money Ventures, a mobile financial solutions provider, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition is expected to position Intuit as the largest online and mobile technology provider to financial institutions.

On May 18, 2012 Intuit Inc. acquired Demandforce, an automated small business marketing and customer communications SaaS provider for approximately $423.5 million.

On August 15, 2012 Intuit, Inc, announced an agreement to sell their 'Grow Your Business' business unit to Endurance International. The carve out included the Intuit Websites and Weblistings products which were formed from the Homestead Technologies and StepUp Commerce acquisitions.

On July 1, 2013 Intuit announced an agreement to sell their Intuit Financial Services (IFS) business unit (formerly known as Digital Insight) to Thoma Bravo for more than $1.03 billion.

On August 19, 2013 Intuit announced that they had sold their Intuit Health business unit (formerly known as MedFusion) back to MedFusion's founder, Steve Malik.

In August 2013, Intuit Inc. acquired tax planning software Good April for an undisclosed amount.

On October 23, 2013 Intuit acquired Level Up Analytics, a data consulting firm.

On October 30, 2013, Intuit Inc. acquired Full Slate, a developer of appointment scheduling software for small businesses.

In May 2014, Intuit Inc. bought Invitco to help bookkeepers put bill processing in the cloud.

In May 2014, Intuit Inc. acquired Check for approximately $360 million to offer bill pay across small business and personal finance products.

In December 2014, Intuit Inc. acquired Acrede, UK-based provider of global, cross-border and cloud-based payroll services.

In March 2015, Intuit Inc. acquired Playbook HR.

In January 2016, Intuit Inc. announced an agreement to sell Demandforce to Internet Brands.

On March 3, 2016, Intuit announced plans to sell Quicken to H.I.G. Capital.

On March 8, 2016, Intuit announced plans to sell Quickbase to private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.

On May 1, 2017 Intuit announced to sell TruPay.

Intuit acquired Bankstream in 2017.

On December 5, 2017 Intuit announced its acquisition of TSheets for $340 million.

src: www.pcmag.com

Lobbying

In 2007, Intuit lobbied to make sure taxpayers cannot electronically file their tax returns directly to the IRS by negotiating a deal preventing the IRS from setting up its own web portal for e-filing.

In 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that Intuit spent nearly $2 million in political contributions to eliminate free online state tax filing for low income residents in California. According to the New York Times, from2009-2014, Intuit spent nearly $13 million lobbying, as reported by Open Secrets, as much as Apple. Intuit spent $1 million on the race for state comptroller to support Tony Strickland, a Republican who opposed ReadyReturn, against John Chang, a Democrat who supported ReadyRun (and won). Joseph Bankman, professor of tax law, Stanford Law School, and advocate of simplified filing, believes that the campaign warned politicians that if they supported free filing, Intuit would help their opponents.

On March 26, 2013, ProPublica reported that the company lobbied against return-free filing as recently as 2011. One year later, ProPublica reported that the company appeared to be linked to a number of op-eds and letters to Congress in a campaign advocating against direct tax filing backed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, an advocacy organization of which Intuit is a member.

src: teecom.com

Lawsuits

An antitrust lawsuit and a class-action suit relating to cold calling employees of other companies were settled out of court.

src: i.ytimg.com

See also

• Comparison of accounting software
• APS Payroll
• Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
• H&R Block
• TaxACT
• Paychex
• Paylocity Corporation
• Square (payment service)
• SurePayroll
• Sage Software
• Xero
• Reckon

src: upload.wikimedia.org

References

General

src: naotw-pd.s3.amazonaws.com

External links

• Official website

Source of article : Wikipedia

Intuit

src: r3.cpapracticeadvisor.com

Intuit Inc. is a business and financial software company that develops and sells financial, accounting, and tax preparation software and related services for small businesses, accountants, and individuals. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California. More than 95% of its revenues and earnings come from its activities within the United States.

Intuit produces TurboTax, a consumer tax preparation application, the small business accounting program QuickBooks, professional tax solutions ProConnect Tax Online, ProSeries and Lacerte, and multiple payroll products. In April 2016, Intuit completed the sale of its original flagship product, Quicken, to H.I.G. Capital.

The company has offices in eight other countries around the world: UK, Australia, France, Singapore, India, Brazil, Canada, and Israel.

Video Intuit

History

The company was founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx in Palo Alto, California.

Intuit was conceived by Scott Cook, whose prior work at Procter & Gamble helped him realize that personal computers would lend themselves towards replacements for paper-and-pencil based personal accounting. On his quest to find a programmer he ended up running into Tom Proulx at Stanford. The two started Intuit, which initially operated out of a modest room on University Avenue in Palo Alto. The first version of Quicken was coded in Microsoft's BASIC programming language for the IBM PC and UCSD Pascal for the Apple II by Tom Proulx and had to contend with a dozen serious competitors.

In 1991 Microsoft decided to produce a competitor to Quicken called Microsoft Money. To win retailers' loyalty, Intuit included a US$15 rebate coupon, redeemable on software customers purchased in their stores. This was the first time a software company offered a rebate.

Roughly around the same time the company engaged John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and diversified its product lineup. In 1993 Intuit went public and used the proceeds to make a key acquisition: the tax-preparation software company Chipsoft based in San Diego. The time after the IPO was marked by rapid growth and culminated with a buyout offer from Microsoft in 1994; at this time Intuit's market capitalization reached US$2 billion.

When the buyout fell through because of the United States Department of Justice's disapproval, the company came under intense pressure in the late 1990s when Microsoft started to compete vigorously with its core Quicken business. In response, Intuit launched new web-based products and solutions and put more emphasis on QuickBooks and on TurboTax. The company made a number of investments around this time. Among others, it purchased a large stake in Excite and acquired Lacerte Software, a Dallas-based developer of tax preparation software used by tax professionals. It also divested itself of its online bill payment service unit and extended and strengthened its partnership with CheckFree.

In June 2013, Intuit announced it would sell its financial services unit to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $1.03 billion.

In June 2015, Intuit laid off approximately 5% of its workforce as part of a company reorganization.

As of May 2018, Intuit had more than US$5 billion in annual revenue and a market capitalization of about US$50 billion.

In August 2018, CEO Brad D. Smith announced that he would step down as Intuit's CEO at the end of 2018. The company announced that Sasan Goodarzi would become Intuit's CEO at the beginning of 2019. Smith will remain chairman of Intuit's board of directors.

Maps Intuit

Online communities

Intuit has several online communities, some of which offer integration or cross-sells into other Intuit products. QuickBooks online community for QuickBooks users and small business owners, Quicken Online Community for Quicken users and those who need help with the personal finances, and the Accountant Online Community and Jump Up. Each consists of blogs, an expert locator map and event calendar, forums and discussion groups, podcasts, videocasts and webinars and other user created content.

JumpUp (formerly JackRabbit Beta) is a free social networking and resources site for small business owners and/or start-ups. Free tools and services include an interactive business planner, online training for developing a successful business plan, starting costs calculator, cash flow calculator, break even calculator, templates for business planning and sample business plans.

Intuitlabs.com is a website Intuit created to get new solutions into people's hands quickly. The early versions of these products and services are called roughcuts, and they're offered for free so people try them and give feedback to enable rapid improvement and make sure they solve real problems well.

TaxAlmanac is a free online tax research resource. Content on TaxAlmanac is written by tax professionals from across the country and takes advantage of the knowledge of academia as well as practitioners. The site includes key information including the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, Tax Court Cases, and a variety of articles.

Modeled after English Wikipedia, TaxAlmanac was launched in May 2005. The June 6, 2005 edition of Time magazine featured an article entitled "It's a Wiki, Wiki World" on English Wikipedia in which TaxAlmanac was highlighted as "A Community of Customers". The November 21, 2005 edition of Business Week featured an article titled "50 Smart Ways to Use the Web" in which TaxAlmanac was selected as one of the 50. TaxAlmanac made the short list as one of the 7 in the collaboration category.

Intuit shut down TaxAlmanac effective June 1, 2014. Many of the users have migrated to a new site called TaxProTalk.com.

Zipingo was a free website where users could rate services such as contractors, restaurants, and other businesses. Ratings and comments were either entered from the website or through Quicken and QuickBooks. The site was closed by Intuit on August 23, 2007.

src: static.seekingalpha.com

Acquisitions and carve-outs

1990s

In 1993, Intuit acquired Chipsoft, a tax preparation software company based in San Diego.

In 1994, Intuit acquired the tax preparation software division of Best Programs of Reston, VA. In the same year, Intuit acquired Parsons Technology from Bob Parsons for $64 million.

In 1996, Intuit acquired GALT Technologies, Inc of Pittsburgh, PA.

In 1998, Intuit acquired Lacerte Software Corp., which now operates as an Intuit subsidiary. The Lacerte subsidiary focuses on tax software used by professional accountants who prepare taxes for a living. It is generally used by larger firms with more complex workflows and clients.

On March 2, 1999, Intuit acquired Computing Resources Inc. for approximately $200 million. This acquisition allowed Intuit to offer a payroll processing platform through its QuickBooks software program. In December 1999, Intuit purchased Rock Financial for a sum of $532M. The company was renamed Quicken Loans. In June 2002, Rock Financial founder Dan Gilbert led a small group of private investors in purchasing the Quicken Loans subsidiary back from Intuit.

2000s

2001, Intuit invests in UK market hiring local management team led by Stephen Lee, Managing Director & Neil Atkins, Marketing Director with an aim to become Europe's leading B2B & B2C packaged accounts solution.

In 2002, Intuit acquired Management Reports International, a Cleveland-based real estate management software firm. The firm was renamed Intuit Real Estate Solutions (IRES) and offers real estate management solutions for Windows and the web.

In 2003, Intuit Inc. acquired 'Innovative Merchant Solutions' (IMS). IMS provided merchant services to all types of businesses nationwide. The acquisition gave Intuit the ability to process credit cards through their core product, QuickBooks, without the need of hardware leasing. They can also provide traditional terminal based credit card processing and downloading transactions directly into the QuickBooks software.

In November 2005, Intuit acquired MyCorporation.com, an online business document filing service, for $20 million from original founders Philip and Nellie Akalp.

In September 2006, Intuit acquired StepUp Commerce, an online localized product listing syndicator, for $60 million in cash.

In December 2006, Intuit acquired Digital Insight, a provider of online banking services.

In December 2007, Intuit acquired Electronic Clearing House to add check processing power.

In December 2007, Intuit acquired Homestead Technologies which offers web site creation and e-commerce tools targeted at the small business market, for $170 million.

In April 2009, Intuit acquired Boorah, a restaurant review site.

On June 2, 2009, Intuit Inc. announced the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase PayCycle Inc., an online payroll services, in an all-cash transaction for approximately $170 million.

On September 14, 2009, Intuit Inc. agreed to acquire Mint.com, a free online personal finance service for $170 million.

2010s

On January 15, 2010, Intuit Inc. spun off Intuit Real Estate Solutions (which Intuit acquired in 2002) as a stand-alone company. The new company took on its previous moniker, and is now known as MRI Software.

On May 21, 2010, Intuit Inc. acquired MedFusion, a Cary, NC leader of Patient to Provider communications for approximately $91 million.

On August 10, 2010, Intuit Inc. acquired the personal finance management app Cha-Ching.

On June 28, 2011, Intuit Inc. acquired the Web banking technology assets of Mobile Money Ventures, a mobile financial solutions provider, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition is expected to position Intuit as the largest online and mobile technology provider to financial institutions.

On May 18, 2012 Intuit Inc. acquired Demandforce, an automated small business marketing and customer communications SaaS provider for approximately $423.5 million.

On August 15, 2012 Intuit, Inc, announced an agreement to sell their 'Grow Your Business' business unit to Endurance International. The carve out included the Intuit Websites and Weblistings products which were formed from the Homestead Technologies and StepUp Commerce acquisitions.

On July 1, 2013 Intuit announced an agreement to sell their Intuit Financial Services (IFS) business unit (formerly known as Digital Insight) to Thoma Bravo for more than $1.03 billion.

On August 19, 2013 Intuit announced that they had sold their Intuit Health business unit (formerly known as MedFusion) back to MedFusion's founder, Steve Malik.

In August 2013, Intuit Inc. acquired tax planning software Good April for an undisclosed amount.

On October 23, 2013 Intuit acquired Level Up Analytics, a data consulting firm.

On October 30, 2013, Intuit Inc. acquired Full Slate, a developer of appointment scheduling software for small businesses.

In May 2014, Intuit Inc. bought Invitco to help bookkeepers put bill processing in the cloud.

In May 2014, Intuit Inc. acquired Check for approximately $360 million to offer bill pay across small business and personal finance products.

In December 2014, Intuit Inc. acquired Acrede, UK-based provider of global, cross-border and cloud-based payroll services.

In March 2015, Intuit Inc. acquired Playbook HR.

In January 2016, Intuit Inc. announced an agreement to sell Demandforce to Internet Brands.

On March 3, 2016, Intuit announced plans to sell Quicken to H.I.G. Capital.

On March 8, 2016, Intuit announced plans to sell Quickbase to private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.

On May 1, 2017 Intuit announced to sell TruPay.

Intuit acquired Bankstream in 2017.

On December 5, 2017 Intuit announced its acquisition of TSheets for $340 million.

src: www.pcmag.com

Lobbying

In 2007, Intuit lobbied to make sure taxpayers cannot electronically file their tax returns directly to the IRS by negotiating a deal preventing the IRS from setting up its own web portal for e-filing.

In 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that Intuit spent nearly $2 million in political contributions to eliminate free online state tax filing for low income residents in California. According to the New York Times, from2009-2014, Intuit spent nearly $13 million lobbying, as reported by Open Secrets, as much as Apple. Intuit spent $1 million on the race for state comptroller to support Tony Strickland, a Republican who opposed ReadyReturn, against John Chang, a Democrat who supported ReadyRun (and won). Joseph Bankman, professor of tax law, Stanford Law School, and advocate of simplified filing, believes that the campaign warned politicians that if they supported free filing, Intuit would help their opponents.

On March 26, 2013, ProPublica reported that the company lobbied against return-free filing as recently as 2011. One year later, ProPublica reported that the company appeared to be linked to a number of op-eds and letters to Congress in a campaign advocating against direct tax filing backed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, an advocacy organization of which Intuit is a member.

src: teecom.com

Lawsuits

An antitrust lawsuit and a class-action suit relating to cold calling employees of other companies were settled out of court.

src: i.ytimg.com

See also

• Comparison of accounting software
• APS Payroll
• Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
• H&R Block
• TaxACT
• Paychex
• Paylocity Corporation
• Square (payment service)
• SurePayroll
• Sage Software
• Xero
• Reckon

src: upload.wikimedia.org

References

General

src: media.bizj.us

External links

• Official website

Source of article : Wikipedia

Transaction authentication number

src: www.git-security.com

A transaction authentication number (TAN) is used by some online banking services as a form of single use one-time passwords to authorize financial transactions. TANs are a second layer of security above and beyond the traditional single-password authentication.

TANs provide additional security because they act as a form of two-factor authentication. Should the physical document or token containing the TANs be stolen, it will be of little use without the password; conversely, if the login data are obtained, no transactions can be performed without a valid TAN.

Video Transaction authentication number

Classic TAN

An outline of how TANs function:

1. The bank creates a set of unique TANs for the user. Typically, there are 50 TANs printed on a list, enough to last half a year for a normal user; each TAN being six or eight characters long.
2. The user picks up the list from the nearest bank branch (presenting a passport, an ID card or similar document) or is sent the TAN list through mail.
3. The password (PIN) is mailed separately.
4. To log on to his/her account, the user must enter user name (often the account number) and password (PIN). This may give access to account information but the ability to process transactions is disabled.
5. To perform a transaction, the user enters the request and authorizes the transaction by entering an unused TAN. The bank verifies the TAN submitted against the list of TANs they issued to the user. If it is a match, the transaction is processed. If it is not a match, the transaction is rejected.
6. The TAN has now been used and will not be recognized for any further transactions.
7. If the TAN list is compromised, the user may cancel it by notifying the bank.

However, as any TAN can be used for any transaction, TANs are still prone to phishing attacks where the victim is tricked into providing both password/PIN and one or several TANs. Further, they provide no protection against man-in-the-middle attacks where an attacker intercepts the transmission of the TAN and uses it for a forged transaction. Especially when the client system should become compromised by some form of malware that enables a malicious user, the possibility of an unauthorized transaction is high. It should be noticed that the remaining TANs remain uncompromised and can be used safely, even though action should be taken by the user as soon as possible.

Maps Transaction authentication number

Indexed TAN (iTAN)

Indexed TANs reduce the risk of phishing. To authorize a transaction, the user is not asked to use an arbitrary TAN from the list but to enter a specific TAN as identified by a sequence number (index). As the index is randomly chosen by the bank, an arbitrary TAN acquired by an attacker is usually worthless.

However, iTANs are still susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks, including phishing attacks where the attacker tricks the user into logging into a forged copy of the bank's website and man-in-the-browser attacks which allow the attacker to secretly swap the transaction details in the background of the PC as well as to conceal the actual transactions carried out by the attacker in the online account overview.

Therefore, in 2012 the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security advised all banks to consider the PC systems of their users being infected by malware by default and use security processes where the user can cross-check the transaction data against manipulations like for example (provided the security of the mobile phone holds up) mTAN or smartcard readers with an own screen including the transaction data into the TAN generation process while displaying it beforehand to the user (chipTAN).

src: c8.alamy.com

Indexed TAN with CAPTCHA (iTANplus)

Prior to entering the iTAN, the user is presented a CAPTCHA, which in the background also shows the transaction data and data deemed unknown to a potential attacker, such as the user's birthdate. This is intended to make it hard (but not impossible) for an attacker to forge the CAPTCHA.

This variant of the iTAN is method used by some German banks adds a CAPTCHA to reduce the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks. Some Chinese banks have also deployed a TAN method similar to iTANplus. A recent study shows that these CAPTCHA-based TAN schemes are not secure against more advanced automated attacks.

src: image.shutterstock.com

Mobile TAN (mTAN)

mTANs are used by banks in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and some in New Zealand, Australia and Ukraine. When the user initiates a transaction, a TAN is generated by the bank and sent to the user's mobile phone by SMS. The SMS may also include transaction data, allowing the user to verify that the transaction has not been modified in transmission to the bank.

However, the security of this scheme depends on the security of the mobile phone system. In South Africa, where SMS-delivered TAN codes are common, a new attack has appeared: SIM Swap Fraud. A common attack vector is for the attacker to impersonate the victim, and obtain a replacement SIM card for the victim's phone from the mobile network operator. The victim's user name and password are obtained by other means (such as keylogging or phishing). In-between obtaining the cloned/replacement SIM and the victim noticing their phone no longer works, the attacker can transfer/extract the victim's funds from their accounts. In 2016 a study was conducted on SIM Swap Fraud by a social engineer, revealing weaknesses in issuing porting numbers.

In 2014, a weakness in the Signalling System No. 7 used for SMS transmission was published, which allows interception of messages. It was demonstrated by Tobias Engel during the 31st Chaos Communication Congress. At the beginning of 2017, this weakness was used successfully in Germany to intercept SMS and fraudulently redirect fund transfers.

Also the rise of smartphones led to malware attacks trying to simultaneously infect the PC and the mobile phone as well to break the mTAN scheme.

src: c8.alamy.com

pushTAN

pushTAN is an app-based TAN scheme by German Sparkassen banking group reducing some of the shortcomings of the mTAN scheme. It eliminates the cost of SMS messages and is not susceptible to SIM card fraud, since the messages are sent via a special text-messaging application to the user's smartphone using an encrypted Internet connection. Just like mTAN, the scheme allows the user to cross-check the transaction details against hidden manipulations carried out by Trojans on the user's PC by including the actual transaction details the bank received in the pushTAN message. Although analogous to using mTAN with a smartphone, there is the risk of a parallel malware infection of PC and smartphone. To reduce this risk the pushTAN app ceases to function if the mobile device is rooted or jailbroken. In late 2014 the Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) also adopted the pushTAN scheme.

src: image.shutterstock.com

TAN generators

Simple TAN generators

The risk of compromising the whole TAN list can be reduced by using security tokens that generate TANs on-the-fly, based on a secret known by the bank and stored in the token or a smartcard inserted into the token.

However, the TAN generated is not tied to the details of a specific transaction. Because the TAN is valid for any transaction submitted with it, it does not protect against phishing attacks where the TAN is directly used by the attacker, or against man-in-the-middle attacks.

ChipTAN / CardTAN

ChipTAN is a TAN scheme used by many German and Austrian banks. It is known as ChipTAN in Germany and as CardTAN in Austria, whereas cardTAN is a technically independent standard.

A ChipTAN generator is not tied to a particular account; instead, the user must insert their bank card during use. The TAN generated is specific to the bank card as well as to the current transaction details. There are two variants: In the older variant, the transaction details (at least amount and account number) must be entered manually. In the modern variant, the user enters the transaction online, then the TAN generator reads the transaction details via a flickering barcode on the computer screen (using photodetectors). It then shows the transaction details on its own screen to the user for confirmation before generating the TAN.

As it is independent hardware, coupled only by a simple communication channel, the TAN generator is not susceptible to attack from the user's computer. Even if the computer is subverted by a Trojan, or if a man-in-the-middle attack occurs, the TAN generated is only valid for the transaction confirmed by the user on the screen of the TAN generator, therefore modifying a transaction retroactively would cause the TAN to be invalid.

An additional advantage of this scheme is that because the TAN generator is generic, requiring a card to be inserted, it can be used with multiple accounts across different banks, and losing the generator is not a security risk because the security-critical data is stored on the bank card.

While it offers protection from technical manipulation, the ChipTAN scheme is still vulnerable to social engineering. Attackers have tried to persuade the users themselves to authorize a transfer under a pretext, for example by claiming that the bank required a "test transfer" or that a company had falsely transferred money to the user's account and they should "send it back". Users should therefore never perform bank transfers they have not initiated themselves.

ChipTAN is also used to secure batch transfers (Sammelüberweisungen). However, this method offers significantly less security than the one for individual transfers. In case of a batch transfer the TAN generator will only show the number and total amount of all transfers combined - thus for batch transfers there is little protection from manipulation by a Trojan. This vulnerability was reported by RedTeam Pentesting in November 2009. In response, as a mitigation, some banks changed their batch transfer handling the way that batch transfers containing only a single record are treated as individual transfers.

src: c8.alamy.com

See also

• One-time password
• Security token

src: l450v.alamy.com

References

Source of article : Wikipedia