It’s that time of the year again. The flowers are in bloom, Easter is around the corner, and people all over the world are wondering how they’ll spend their upcoming summer. But this year has been different from previous ones. If you’ve ventured onto social media any time in the last few weeks, you’ll have noticed a new movement.

The crypto movement! Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have taken over our feeds with constant news updates, alarming headlines about how unprepared most people are for this new type of currency, and calls-to-action asking everyone to invest now before it’s too late. Some people are ecstatic, while others are skeptical. But, is anyone really asking the question of whether this is really a step forward for travel? Even as countries adopt cryptocurrencies at different rates.

(Image Source: Financial Times)

Travel is changing fast. It’s time to be a voice that moves the industry forward. This has been a year in which innovation has been everywhere – from Uber and Airbnb leading the charge with innovative business models, to NASA testing out 3D printing on Mars. With the rise of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, 2021 has been the year of the disruptive, wild west of new business models and concepts. How exactly will this affect travel? 

As cryptocurrency continues to be hyped around the world, it’s important to keep an open mind when making predictions about its impact on travel – otherwise you’ll end up entirely missing out on something that could change travel as we know it forever.

Hype vs Reality?

The days of travel being an amazing experience that brings people together and allows us to broaden our horizons may soon be gone. Imagine a future where there are no restaurants serving local cuisine or souvenir shops run by local artisans. Imagine if there was no one in your hostel who could show you around the city or give you advice on where to eat, drink and shop. A future where you can’t trust anyone.

Outlook: Scary. I’m not saying this will happen, but it could easily lead to a more homogenous, isolated and tourist-dependent travel industry. We’re at the start of a new era – an era of mass-produced travel that excludes local people from their communities through branded experiences and corporate partnerships. The world wants to connect with others on the Internet, and if we continue down this path, it won’t be long before superhighways replace cities. The travel industry is headed towards a strange, new place. It’s up to us to decide how it changes.

“Would you Like a Receipt, or Are You Paying in Bitcoin?”

(Image Source: Statista)

Cryptocurrencies have the potential to revolutionize the way you pay for travel. Right now, most people don’t understand what they are – and with the relentless media coverage of money lost due to hacks and fraud, many people still don’t trust them. But the implications of cryptocurrency go beyond just speculative investing or day trading. For travelers, this means completely new possibilities for booking flights, finding strange and unique accommodation for the night, and even buying entry tickets to museums all via our handheld smart devices.

Travel is a big-money industry with a big budget for preventing fraud. If cryptocurrencies want to be allowed anywhere in travel, they need to start proving their worth quickly. Companies like Coinbase are building more trust by providing more security features than other trading sites. But building trust takes time…and it’s not as simple as just slapping a “Bitcoin Accepted Here” sticker on your website or store front. It’s going to take some time before people are ready to put their credit card information into a form that ends with “.bitcoin.

As we move forward with blockchain technology in our daily lives, research shows that we’ll also see an increase of blockchain related travel. It’s becoming easier for travelers to learn how cryptocurrency is being used around the world better than ever before; quickly understanding where they can spend their virtual currency or invest in altcoins to support their travels.

Without a doubt, the advancement of blockchain technology will positively impact the travel industry, making it easier to reach international destinations without having to worry about currency conversion fees. The process is also much faster because of the way in which digital currencies are stored and processed. The eco-system is already large and growing and everyone is looking for ways to increase their profits when it comes to the movement of money between countries around the world.

In today’s travel culture, many people choose to save money and secure their travels by so-called “digital cash”. This means that people are more likely to pay with PayPal or credit cards because they do not have enough trust on cryptocurrencies. 

In other words, it’s here to stay and something that will be a big part of travel. Even now, holding specific coins lets travelers enter certain lounges, making the allure of crypto even greater not just for leisure travelers but businesses too.

There aren’t many goals as important as planning for your retirement. After all, we all have to give up work at some point in our lives. And when done the right way, you’ll assure yourself of financial independence and freedom in your life after work. Conversely, if you don’t carefully prepare for your future, you’ll be facing a lot of worry and stress. To steer clear of this outcome, here are some of the most common mistakes in retirement planning you must avoid at all costs.

1. Failing to plan for your retirement

One of the mistakes most people make is taking their future for granted and failing to create a plan. After all, there are many things that go into designing your retirement plan, including how much time you’ve got remaining, the location you plan to retire to, the desired lifestyle, and your health. If you don’t have a plan for how to reach your financial goals, then chances are you won’t. So make sure that you outline everything that you need to do.

2. Postponing your plans to save

Procrastination is the single greatest obstacle when it comes to retirement planning. Your financial security can hinge on how early you begin when you get right down to it. With compound interest, the longer the period of your accumulated savings, the more it’ll grow. Therefore, you mustn’t delay your plans of putting money away. Instead, allocate around ten to fifteen per cent into a savings account if possible, then start making adjustments once you’ve determined the funds you’ll need to have to support your desired lifestyle.

3. Not making smart investments

For many, investment options for retirement can be complicated and come with steep learning curves. Those who make impulsive decisions aren’t just setting themselves up for failure but creating setbacks that could potentially ruin their plans. Thus, it would be best to always consider any prospective investment before making a financial commitment. If possible, consult with an expert local in your area first. For example, some professionals offer invaluable financial advice in Kent for those based in the county. Their expertise can help you make the right choices and maximise your investments.

4. Overlooking tax implications

When planning for retirement, many forget to consider their tax implications, only to find themselves struggling with it later on. It may not sound like a big deal, but taxes can and will affect your retirement plans in the future, so it’s best to address the concerns that they pose now. Whether it’s the tax bracket that you fall under or how best to pay them off, learning about all the tax implications can help you prepare much better for your retirement.

Conclusion

We all want to have a retirement that’s free of any money-related worries. The good news is that regardless of where you find yourself in the continuum of retirement, there are ways to build a financially secure future. By avoiding the mistakes listed above, you’ll put yourself a few steps closer to achieving your goals.

More businesses are beginning to adopt cryptocurrency payment solutions. As companies begin to invest time into understanding cryptos, the once unknown technology is slowly but surely creeping into the mainstream financial, eComm/retail, and other industry sectors. New apps, marketing, and positive reviews from early adopters have spurred on others in their respective marketplaces to consider following suit, or better still, many have already followed suit. We are increasingly seeing cryptocurrency payments trend across the globe despite their price volatility, and that trend is set to continue. Here’s why.

Fast, Efficient Payments & Withdrawals in iGaming Industries such as Online Bingo

The first sector to take on cryptocurrency payments, and one that continues to grow, is online gaming. Under online gaming comes the iGaming industry.

A world of real money casino, bingo, and virtual sports betting that accounts for the lion’s share of crypto transactions in the online gaming world. Naturally so too. iGaming requires players to deposit to play games like online bingo at bingo websites such as those listed on Whichbingo Uk. And players win, they need to withdraw. This is a constant too and throws with deposits and withdrawals in crypto constantly being processed by iGaming sites.

And one of the reasons crypto has become so popular in iGaming is because crypto wallets make short work of processing transactions, which are anonymous. In particular, when withdrawing, it takes less than 5 minutes to receive the funds as opposed to credit/debit cards or eWallets which can take 3 to 7 days.

Consumers feel the benefits of cryptocurrency payments outweigh the benefits

Many of those that are currently invested in virtual currencies understand the risks involved with volatile price movements. These movements can be a blessing and curse depending on which way the price of a particular crypto moves. However, as cryptos payments are so easy to make, and storing them is now effortless, they are becoming a choice payment option.

According to one study on the US cryptocurrency market, 48% of investors decided to invest in cryptocurrency over the course of Q1 and Q2 of 2021. That’s a pretty impressive statistic and shows just how much belief people have in today’s crypto market. Further studies reported by PYMNTS also show that the number of cryptocurrency transactions is steadily increasing. The impressive figure reported is that $12 billion is transferred every day using bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin – bearing in mind this figure does not include the likes of DOGE, XRP, TRON, and other popular cryptos as well as those up-and-coming digital currencies, this is a jaw dropping figure indeed.

If $12 billion per day is moving through 3 of the most popular cryptos, it’s hard for anyone to turn around and say nothing will ever come from crypto. And for businesses looking to compete harder in today’s highly saturated and competitive business markets, it’s difficult to ignore the popularity of crypto. So much so, that these figures are encouraging more companies to accept crypto as a payment option.

Cryptocurrency Transacting Using Public Keys is Becoming Much Less Daunting

Although cryptocurrencies are gaining traction with an increasing number of payment options now available across multiple industries, there’s still some way to go with several challenges to overcome.

Most notably, having to type in a ‘public key’ to make payment, or provide one to get paid, is long winded. However, there is a counterargument to these notions. That is, the public key may be difficult for some cryptos, but comparatively it’s no more arduous than using 8-, 9-, 10-digit account numbers, swift codes, sort codes, and bank names to make a transfer. The amount of information needed to make a wire/bank transfer is multi-faceted, while a crypto transaction is a single key. And just as you can save bank details or credit/debit card information when making transactions, many crypto wallets have the same function built in.

Therefore, all you need to do is enter someone’s public account correctly one time, and you can then make multiple payments. Some companies even allow the sender to use an email address associated with the crypto wallet and the receiver can then accept the transaction being held on the blockchain network. This solves the issues of smoother transactions, and we are sure to see more user-friendly tech introduced to reduce the amount of crypto lost due to errors and to make crypto transactions seamless.

Cross Border Payments Made Easy

Due to the anonymity and lack of third-party intervention, i.e., banks, cross border crypto transactions are fast and anonymous. Although there are some measures put in place by governments that force websites processing cross border crypto payments, the sheer number of transactions from various companies makes preventing or taxing cross-border payments extremely difficult.

For global companies looking to target overseas markets with a super-fast cross border payment solution, cryptocurrency is perfect. It makes for the perfect borderless B2C and B2B solution and is a key reason crypto payment solutions will continue to emerge and evolve.

To sum up, crypto payment solutions make it easy to deposit and withdraw crypto funds from websites. It is also a fast payment solution for eComm, and it is even emerging as a physical over-the-counter payment solution. As confidence grows in crypto, an increasing number of the world population are adopting crypto with less fear of price volatility. As a result, payment solutions are creating more user-friendly ways to make transactions less complex. Add fast payments, less fear, and smoother transaction processing, and you have global adoption of common currencies connecting countries, which in turn inevitably means an increase in cross-border crypto transactions.

With the PPI claim deadline passing on 29th August 2019, many banks and financial institutions all over the United Kingdom breathed a sigh of relief. However, they did not realize that they have more dues to pay.

Most mis-sold PPI claim compensation can’t be recovered, due to the deadline. However, if your PPI mis-selling occurred due to the same kind of incident as the ‘Plevin’ case, you may still receive compensation—and that includes those whose claims were rejected in the past!

As government data suggests, over a million people may have been affected and might be eligible for making a Plevin claim. So before you can figure out what kind of impact Plevin may have on you, you first need to fully understand what these claims are.

Hidden PPI Commissions

Did you know that an average of 67 percent of PPI premiums that the affected UK borrowers paid to the lenders went into a hidden commission? This often happens when an agent, broker, or any other third party sold people a PPI agreement from a lending institution.

In many cases, the bank or the lender chose to not disclose this hidden or secret commission, even though they are bound by law to reveal all the fees of a sold PPI to the buyer.

This commission generally went to the agent/broker who sold the PPI at a bank/lender’s behest or was divided between the two parties. It is not enough to simply imply that there might have been a commission.

Both the representative and the lender can be held liable if such a commission was not revealed when the PPI was sold to you, as not doing so is considered a fraud and is punishable by law. These hidden commissions are the reason behind the existence of the Plevin claim.

What Is the Plevin Claim?

If the PPI mis-selling was due to a high hidden commission, you may qualify for receiving a Plevin claims compensation, even though the PPI deadline has passed. So what exactly is the Plevin claim?

The Susan Plevin Case

For years, people have filed complaints against the unfairness of some PPI that was attached to most loans and cards, back in the day. One such individual was Mrs. Susan Plevin, but her case was a little different from many others.

She had taken out a loan from Paragon Personal Finance Ltd. They also sold her the PPI along with the loan, which she paid premiums for. She later found out that 71.8 percent of the premium was a commission. She didn’t know about this commission, nor did she know who this money was going to.

She took this case to the court, and Judge Lord Sumption of the Supreme Court at that time came to the conclusion that this commission being undisclosed caused a ‘sufficiently extreme inequality of knowledge and understanding.’ The judge deemed this as unfair, along with the fact that they’d crossed the boundary of commission when it is too much and is extortion towards the borrower.

The Outcome

Due to Susan Plevin’s brave initiative, this kind of unfair PPI mis-selling was brought forward to the court, which led to the court ruling known as the Plevin claim. Thanks to Mrs. Plevin, anyone who was sold a PPI that had a high undisclosed commission should be able to make a compensation claim.

How Is Plevin Different from Mis-sold PPIs?

Mis-sold PPI is what made the government take action against banks and other lending institutions. PPI is considered mis-sold under the following circumstances:

• You did not know the lenders had sold you a PPI. If you knew, you would have never bought it.
• You never wanted a PPI but were sold one anyway.
• You were pushed into buying one and were led to believe it was compulsory.
• You were made to believe that without the PPI you wouldn’t receive the loan, card, etc.
• You did not understand the terms of the PPI you were sold, and the lender/agent never explained it to you properly.

Even though most people thought that the mis-sold PPI scandal was coming to an end, those who fall under the Plevin claim can still get compensation. Yes, the Plevin claim is also for a kind of mis-sold PPI, but it is still different from regular mis-selling cases. This is because the Plevin claim falls under a different category—the Consumer Credit Act 1974. This means that there is no end to when you can claim your Plevin compensation!

How Can the Plevin Claim Impact You?

According to the Plevin ruling, if over 50 percent of the PPI value went to a secret commission that was enjoyed by the agent or the lending institution or both, and it was not explained or revealed to you, you are entitled to get compensation.

There are a few conditions that need to be met if you want to consider whether the Plevin Claim can have an impact on you. If you want to be eligible for the Plevin Claim, your case needs to meet the following conditions:

• You were sold the PPI before 6th April 2007 and it was open after 6th April 2008.
• You were sold the PPI after 6th April 2007.
• You never made any complaints about mis-sold PPI.
• You made a PPI claim and it was rejected.
• They made a tipping point offer and you received only a partial payment for your compensation.

The Next Step

If you are eligible for the Plevin PPI claim, the next step to take is to hire an informed solicitor or a law firm. They can walk you through the process and help you understand what you have to do next. They will contact the lending institution or agent through which you made the loan and gather all the necessary information.

Some companies are solely focused on claims and will have the necessary resources and even software that can help them get you your compensation. A few do not charge any money and only take a commission after you receive your compensation.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know what a Plevin claim is, you can try to get compensation if this impacts you and any PPI you paid for with a loan you have taken. Remember that Plevin’s claim has no deadline, and you can get compensation any time! So figure out whether you are eligible and arm yourself with the help of some good solicitors who can help you claim your compensation.