You
may be confident in stepping out of your house and going grocery shopping with
no cash in hand only to find out that all of your cards are rejected.
Sometimes, there is just a glitch in the system or your card may just have a
little scratch in its magnetic stripe. In other times, you discover your
account has been frozen.

 

You
may start wondering why and how it is being frozen. Your provider may have a
practical reason to freeze your account. Axis
Capital Business Funding, a credit loan source for small business owners in
the United States identifies some of the primary reasons why your card may be
frozen:

 

1. Fraud Alerts

 

Credit
card issuers can trace fraudulent patterns and recognize dubious transactions
through its detection formulas. In most cases, these systems work well at
preventing unauthorized purchases, and your account will be frozen when a
potentially fraudulent transaction is detected. This is one of the protection
protocols of issuers to prevent their clients from possible scams. To prevent
false fraud alerts that may freeze your card in the midst of process resulting
to lumps of embarrassment, you should contact your credit card issuer before
making large transactions.

 

2. Default

 

If
you haven't paid your loans or if you are spending more than your limit, it is
just default that your issuer freezes your account to prevent you from further
digging of your grave. The duration of the freeze may depend on both the card
issuer and the customer. It's unlikely that your account will be frozen
immediately after missing a single payment, but it's a pretty safe bet that
your card will stop working after missing two. If you ever miss a payment for
any reason, contact your card issuer as soon as possible to explain the
situation, and to arrange to make up the payment as quickly as you can. Once
your account is in good standing, you should be able to use your card again.
Keep in mind that missing payments on your credit cards not only risks a
freeze, it also damages your credit.

 

3. If You Cancel the Primary
Cardholder's Account

 

There
was an instance when one cardholder has her ex-boyfriend as primary holder.
When they broke up, her ex went to Jakarta, Indonesia while she enjoys the
credit card with high limit only to find out that he had closed the account.
Now she is faced with the debts alone and the remaining balance on her death
bed.

 

Most
card issuers will still display the account in the user's online profile for
several months, if only so that customers can track the status of their
remaining balance and payments.  

Standard and Poor's (S&P's), one of three biggest credit-rating agencies in the world along with Moody's Investor Services and Fitch Ratings, surprised everyone when asked about the progress and upgrade of credit rating of Indonesia.

S&P's was questioned and representatives from the company insisted that it remains upbeat about reform progress in Indonesia, even after the local stocks and bonds market fell after the agency's upward revision of its outlook for the country's sovereign debt paper rating.

It was an unexpected move as many analysts have been positive about the growth of investors in the country, especially in the development in the archipelago's capital, Jakarta.

Axis Capital Business Funding, one of the business lending companies in America which expanded their services to Indonesia, has expressed a great disappointment in S&P's decision. Reviews show great displeasure by companies and individuals alike. Some even made threats of suing and complaints are expected to elevate if the agency will not revise their decisions.

S&P upgraded the outlook of Indonesian sovereign debt papers from "stable" to "positive" on May 22, but the announcement failed to reverse the sell-off of rupiah bonds, whose yields have risen by 15 basis points over the last two weeks to touch 8.13 percent as of May 29.

Despite this, S&P expressed that they are still comfortable with the Indonesian economy. The agency's analyst, Kyran Curry stated, "What is important for us under the new government is that Jokowi has shown that he could move decisively. We believe the government will continue to deliver".

The "positive" rating outlook indicates that S&P is likely to perform a rating upgrade within six to 12 months. A "stable" outlook signals little possibility for near-term rating changes while "negative" signals suggest likelihood for a rating downgrade.

S&P currently rates the long-term sovereign credit rating in Indonesia as BB+, or one notch below investment grade status.

The outlook revision came as Indonesia's economic data releases fell short of most economists' high expectations, with growth already falling to a six-year low of 4.7 percent in the first quarter, while inflation accelerated to 6.8 percent in April, versus the government's target of 5 percent for the full year.

S&P cited "improved policy credibility" behind the outlook upgrade, but such a rationalization confounded analysts as Indonesia's fiscal authority is currently grappling with an enlarging budget deficit due to the unrealistic tax targets, at the same time its monetary authority has recently backtracked from its earlier tight policy.

I know what you are thinking. Since you are just a small company starting out on your own, you cannot expect to push the big and more experienced people in the industry. You have to take things slow and make your way to the top step by step. But do you know how to do it? Do you have plans on doing it? Axis Capital Group Business Funding, a company based in Nebraska and now has expanded to Singapore and Jakarta, Indonesia with an aim to offer entrepreneurs like you to fund your business has these tips for you to review and consider:

1. Personal Brand.

This is an easy one if done right but imagine the importance of this. People appreciate Coca-cola and Pepsi far above other sodas since these two already have established their brand in the market. Your brand should speak for what you are. Be bold and daring. This is mostly the characteristics a good branding should have that people patronize. And also remember that you shouldn't copy someone else's branding. People can see through it. You do not want people to see you as scam or fraud.

2. Passion.

Follow Your Dreams! We all know passion can ignite emotion and results. Small business leaders have the advantage that they probably started their business because of a passion or an enormous opportunity they saw in the market that is not being solved for. Regardless, the chances are high there is something about the opportunity and business model that is exciting them.

Tapping into passion is key to staying motivated. Where larger brands are filled with executives that may be burned out, most small businesses are filled with founders whose heads and hearts want to burst with excitement.

3. Innovation.

Because you have passion and because you can tap into agility, you have a perfect mix to better innovate. It doesn't require an intense board meeting to kickoff an idea for further research. You can simply plan it and do it.

Innovate quick and smart. Don't sit on your ideas for too long. Leverage your agility to truly innovate faster than your competition, even the big brands!

4. Service.

Small business can have an immediate leg up on competition with service. You can leverage your personal brand, personal relationships and human touch to make your customers feel special.

Be sure to set proper expectations. Don't be pushed into quick time frames for deliverables that you know you can't meet just to close a deal.

In our present times, the population gets younger and younger. New college graduates range from 18-22 years old nowadays. We awe at young entrepreneurs who gets successful in their field. However though, no matter how persevered the generation nowadays is, we cannot expect each and everyone to succeed. Young people have more roadblocks along the way despite having bigger opportunities. The following are only some of the challenges Axis Capital Group Business Funding, a direct source of business funding based in the US and Jakarta, Indonesia has listed that young people faces:

1. Stereotyping

Being young is often tagged with terms such as "lazy", "irrational", "irresponsible", "unorganized" and naive". There will always be a good chance that you will be doing business with people who are older than you are and incorporate you with the stereotyping terms. To overcome this, show that you are professional and treat anyone that you interact with like you would want to be treated if you called a company. Soon they will see that you mean business and treat you like an adult.

2. Educational responsibilities

Of course, since you are still young, going to college is a big plus in business. You have to juggle your business venture with school work, something that can be a very rigorous load. In running a business through college you should learn to block off hours for the duties that absolutely had to get done. One friend of mine who started his business in Jakarta, Indonesia and also studied college there told us how he has to answer clients between classes and act all professional but when his teacher caught him, he should be back to his usual self again. In the long run, this struggle to juggle college and business is worth it because the real world experience will set you far ahead of your colleagues.

3. Criticisms

Because you are young and already own your own business, some people will feel threatened by your ingenuity and success. They may feel the need to doubt your abilities and let you know how hard it is to run a successful business. You may face a lot of complaints from your competitors. All your moves will be reviewed and observed. Always listen to advice but also be weary of those just trying to bring you down. Many people may assume that you will never end up making enough money to make it full time - go ahead and show them otherwise.