Financial services tips for the festive season

The festive season is one of the periods when there is a surge in economic activities.

Spending is the norm as people are busy buying gifts, household items, going out to parties and entertainment.

During the festive season, demand for many goods and services goes up substantially as almost everyone receives their salaries timely. The festive season, therefore, provides a greater opportunity for both buyers and sellers to buy/sell their choicest products.

During this season there is a wide use of e-commerce and digital platforms which become convenient as banks are closed for the better part of the period. Online transactions, therefore, surge during festivals. Queues are expected to shift from fuel stations to automated teller machine (ATMs).

Whether you are shopping in person, online, or both, protecting your finances will be important this holiday season. Here are some tips to keep your money, your identity, and yourself safe

Firstly, beware of scammers. This is the season for scammers, e-mail scams asking for account information and passwords increase this time of year, as do robocalls with a voice telling you they are from a financial service or mobile money service provider, banks, Airtel Money or TNM Mpamba and they really need to speak with you regarding an important matter. All this is targeting your money.

This is also the time to protect your passwords even more. Ensure you do not use one common password for all your bank accounts and different platforms. That is a bad idea, we all know it yet two-thirds of online and digital consumers still use the same password for all platforms that require a password.

If your passwords are all the same or similar enough, take time to change at least a few of them, particularly for your credit cards, and any shopping websites you might use this holiday season.

A password manager can help you keep track of all your passwords. It is sometimes an inconvenience and a hustle to remember, but you may agree with me that the inconvenience of forgetting a password and having to reset it is much less annoying than dealing with a hacked account or illegally used debit card.

Do not shop when using public Wi-Fi. Shopping online from home may be safe and convenient as private or home Wi-Fi which may not be easily hacked. Public Wi-Fi, however, is not as secure as the private one. Utilise the public Wi-Fi for other purposes, including watching YouTube which are relatively harmless, but not for online purchases as it exposes you to cybercriminals.

Know your limits. Buying presents for your loved ones brings joy to both the giver and the recipient. However, the holiday season should not mean piling on debt or bouncing checks.

Some tips to manage your funds include budgeting how much you plan to spend. Impulse purchases are inevitable, but sticking close to a budget ensures you do not go overboard. Also check your credit card limits and balances before shopping. Taking the time to implement these financial safety tips will go a long way in protecting you.

For the financial services providers, this is the peak period when customers would like to access their funds and transact whether online or using hard cash, at the same time the banks will be closed.

As such the digital platforms including the ATMs are the common channels to be used. The expectation from the consumers is that the uptime period for the point of sale (PoS) machines, ATM’s, mobile banking, internet banking, and mobile money services will be at their best to provide convenience to the customers.

Otherwise, no customer would want to experience the trauma of waiting in a long ATM queue, failure of a PoS machine when you have spent two hours of shopping, or failure of a funds transfer to conclude a transaction. Furthermore, retail shops have to ensure excellent service and speed in serving the busy customer. Controller! please be quick when called to help the till operator. Happy Festive season! n

*Frank Nakoma is a chartered banker writing in his personal capacity. Feedback: fnakoma@yahoo.com