Ally Contract Rate Verification Form: Fill & Download for Free

(Originally a blog post, excuse the length!)After creating an account with Ally, I've come to really enjoy online-only banking (a competitor that was wholly designed as an online bank is Simple). There are a lot of ways in which it's brought the banking industry into the 21st century, and I'm looking forward to innovations that are sure to come in the near future. There are still some major ways in which online banking can improve, however. I've tried thinking about the situation as if I were a product manager for a generic, existing online bank (most of them have similar feature sets), and here are some major areas of improvement that I can see.The signup flowTraditionally to open a bank account, you walk into a brick-and-mortar branch and deal with a representative. You learn about the different types of accounts, fill out some forms, provide some documentation that you're a real person, and make some kind of initial deposit.The online banking signup process is a bit trickier. The banks already do a decent job with the "educating" aspect - I'm sure a lot of attention has gone into the design of the various pages to communicate the different types of accounts and their varying features as clearly as possible.Forms can generally be filled out online, and users are now probably used to giving all kinds of sensitive information to various websites. The real problems here are the document verification process and, to a lesser degree, the initial deposit.Ally Bank deals with gathering physical documents from new users in a clever way. After the user chooses a type of account and fills out the forms, the account is nominally "created". However, an Ally rep will then contact the user within a week in order to gather the necessary documents; the account is considered fully active only after these documents are received by Ally (e.g. by fax, or by scanning).This works, but is more convoluted than it needs to be. It also introduces an unexpected break in the signup flow, one where users can slip away and never receive their full-fledged accounts (I'd love to see conversion rates at various steps of this signup process!).A sensible first solution to this problem is to allow users to upload documents as part of the signup flow. The online bank probably knows exactly which kinds of documents will satisfy its needs, so why not give users a chance to scan in and upload attachments to their application? This way, a chunk of users will be able to eliminate the awkward phone call from a rep.A clunkier way to do it, but one which would probably be more welcoming for new users who are not as comfortable with the idea of an online-only bank, is to allow new users to open the account with reps. These reps could travel to different major towns (schedules posted online in an easily-searchable way, of course) and help interested users sign up for an account the same way they would at a physical branch. This is obviously a step back from the "online only" idea, but could help with the adoption of this new way of interacting with a bank - if a new user feels at all uncomfortable about sending her money off to some online-only entity, then dealing with someone face-to-face when opening the account is a good way to hand-hold the user into the experience.The rare, but vital, edge casesOnline banking is perfect for someone who lives a fairly simple financial life. The vast majority of my activities consist of depositing paychecks via direct deposit, withdrawing cash at ATMs, and paying bills electronically.However, there are definitely some edge banking activities which are difficult with online banking. A somewhat trivial example I've found is depositing cash, which is nearly impossible with an online-only bank; this is not a huge use case for a typical user, but might be a blocker for a small business.But more common examples of these "edge" activities would include things like large money transfers, wire money transfers, and obtaining a mortgage or loan of some kind. These are all activities that occur relatively rarely for the typical user, but probably at least once in life (e.g. when purchasing a house, or paying college tuition). Ally Bank does not even currently offer loans outside of auto financing (which is actually where Ally got its start, as the financing arm for GM).Transferring a large amount of money or sending a wire transfer with Ally Bank requires contacting a rep over the phone and/or faxing in a form (faxing!). I've never tried obtaining a loan from Ally, but I imagine there's a lot of paperwork that needs to be submitted, both to establish the kind of loan someone is eligible for and to enter into that loan contract.I've also found that there's a category of activities that are surprisingly blocked in the mobile app experience. This includes, for example, depositing a check for a large amount of money - Ally Bank imposes a limit on the amount you can deposit per day via its mobile app.There are surely a lot of legal and risk reasons for why online banks currently limit their features. When addressing these kinds of edge activities, online banks should try to make the experience as seamless and convenient as possible for users. For example, any instance of having to fax a document should probably be replaced by an online form. Any instance of requiring additional documents from users should be addressed with the ability to scan and upload said documents. There should not be any unexpected limits on activities depending on whether they are done on the phone, on a computer, or via a representative (e.g. when depositing a large check). And finally, for situations where human intervention is absolutely necessary, there should probably be either a fast-track customer service number that users can call, or the ability to have a customer service rep call the user back.I believe that one indisputable principle about online banking is that it will not be able to catch up and replace traditional banking until it allows users to do everything they could've done at a traditional bank. If I know that my online bank can't help me in the event of an important but rare life event, such as buying a house, then I will not fully let go of my traditional bank account.Closing the simplicity-of-use gap in all financial transactionsPart of the appeal of online banking is obviously the simplicity of use. So many functions in life are now being done on the internet via a computer or smartphone, so why not move banking activities out of brick-and-mortar banks as well?After ameliorating some of the flaws and difficulties with online banking's current user experience, I believe the most exciting area to tackle would be to continue closing the simplicity-of-use gap in all kinds of financial transactions in life.One area, already being tackled by lots of other startups, is in more convenient forms of payment. If a smartphone app can be my portal to my online bank account, then perhaps it can also function as my debit card. This is already, to some degree, a function addressed by Venmo, so the question might become whether a middle party like Venmo is even necessary. (Update: Apple Pay, announced after I wrote this, obviously also deals with this issue.)If I can access my bank account via my smartphone to make payments, another logical thing I'd want to do is withdraw money using just my cellphone, thus eliminating the need to carry around an ATM card. Perhaps technology can be developed to allow ATMs to talk directly and securely with my phone. Note that an implicit assumption here is that the need for cash at all is not going to disappear anytime soon!Imagine also if paying bills became easier, thanks to the power of online banking. Currently, I believe you can pay most bills online, and sometimes banks will be able to read the amount due from certain credit card or utility companies. Some of these bills can be auto-paid, which is a huge boon to convenience. To make bills even simpler to pay, online banks could strive to increase the coverage of its knowledge of when I have new bills pop up, and reduce the paying experience down to 1 button if I can't (or don't want to) pay automatically - a push notification on my phone featuring a "Pay $X Now" button.Finally, online banking can rise from being a simple-to-use alternative to traditional banking to being an invaluable all-around personal finance tool. This will surely require more data on a user's personal finances, but imagine what would happen if an online bank had the same kind of data as Mint. My online bank account could suddenly become a portal to all my personal finances, and use the data to generate all kinds of smart recommendations that help me manage my finances. Simple already has hints of this goal as a feature with what it calls "automatic budgeting and saving". As personal finances get ever more complicated (especially throwing things like retirement savings into the mix), there is an increasingly valuable opportunity to help users understand their financial situation and make optimal decisions.

The govt. is not doing anything? The govt tried their level best in their proposal to the farmers.The following are the proposalsAMENDMENT TO APMC LAWAs per the proposed amendment, the APMC and Free-market mandis would have the same tax rate.The bills had proposed that free market would not have taxes, the farmers had argued that the same should also be applicable on APMCs.AMENDMENT TO DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMThe government has proposed Farmers tribunal to be formed or court protection against the corporates. Under the current bill, dispute resolution was at the SDM level. That means farmers who have a grievance with a sale have to approach the local SDMs.GOVT PROPOSES AMENDMENT TO REGISTRATION SYSTEMThe Government is likely to propose that Open markets traders would have to be registered with proper verification. The law had suggested that a trader could indulge in purchases based on Pan Card.AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT FARMING LAWThe Government has proposed assurance that in Contract farming, nothing will happen to the land of the farmer, or incase the contractor takes a loan, the land would not be mortgaged. The farmers had made this one of the key campaign issues claiming that they would lose the right to their land due to the provisions of the lawsASSURANCE ON MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICEThe government is ready to provide the farmers in writing an assurance that the MSP system will not be jettisoned due to the new laws.GOVT READY TO PROVIDE ASSURANCES ON PROCUREMENTThis was the issue that initially led to the farm stir as Punjab farmers under the current system that procures most of their produce used to have assured MSP. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in August had issued an open letter assuring this but despite it, BJP ally Akali Dal walked out of the Council of Ministers and the NDA. This was due to the pressure exerted by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh who questioned the participation of Akali Dals's Harsimrat Kaur as a minister in the Modi cabinet that cleared the farm ordinances.GOVERNMENT READY TO TAKE BACK THE STUBBLE BURNING ORDINANCE AND ELECTRICITY ORDINANCEThe farmers have been demanding to scrap of tough penalties imposed by the law against stubble burningThe government has proposed to take back the FIRS and cases filed against the protesting farmers and union leadersThese amendments will be scrutinised by farm unions and they would revert back.Earleir when the protes was going on in the late november and also in september when these laws were passed from the parliament, I was with the farmers bcoz the concerns of the farmers were legitimate. And I was also happy with the thing that govt. is trying to listen to the farmers and was conducting meetings with their leaders to gather their interests.But when on 9th of December, I got to know about the proposal, I was shocked at first that the govt indeedagreed! I was very happy also. But, I knew that the proposal would be rejected. Why? Bcoz from the starting of December, their has been an unusual demand of the farmers to repeal these laws.I was like:Image source: GoogleAnd then what shocked me was this:Image source: GoogleAnd then I was like:Image source: GoogleAt last, I only want to say that this protest is kinda politically motivated now bcoz u myt also be noticing the activeness of political parties and several unions in this protestSee what the BKU tweeted in 2019:Image Source: GoogleImage source: Google.Even Yogendra Yadav in his article of The Print applauded these farm laws and criticised one of them slightly( I am not able to remeber which). And now, u will no more find that article and u will only find other articles of him when he became active in these protests.When I saw all these things I was like:Image Source: GoogleThank U!😊.Footnotes:Government sends proposal to farmers amid protests, offers assurance on MSP, APMCs say sources

If I were to form a party these would be my starting planks. Obviously others would contribute good ideas and some of these would need to be withdrawn for lack of support by other members.A refocus of government would be high up on the list. Regulations in some areas would be drastically cut or completely eliminated, but this would be contrasted with actual enforcement of monopoly laws and government initiatives to spur competition on the market and openness in government practices. The shift would be to favor small and medium business and then international corporations if and only if their interests are not in conflict with small and medium business and most importantly US interests and welfare. Both current parties strongly favor international corporations and globalism. The world is too big right now for this. We need nationalism and the experiment that each nation is. We need government down at the level of the people not on another continent. We also need our economy based in the same place. We want to sell and trade but not at the expense of our internal economy. That’s just economic suicide and a route to poverty. That said, it would be unconstitutional to just mandate things. We have to create incentives and get people and companies to actually take up those initiatives. My party would be a party of leadership not ramming unpopular measures down their throats.Actual pro-environment stances not this climate change Marxist garbage that pretends to be environmentalism today. Practical solutions not a war on business and Conservatives. A practical solution should both help the economy and not penalize US citizens and companies. it should be mostly low cost and unfunded initiatives taken up voluntarily. Those impacted should have a say and be able to create practical routes for them to reach the goals without harming their interests and standard of living. Almost all environmental problems can be solved in such a way and many of our biggest problems actually stem from impractical and short sighted policies and decisions that caused more harm than good.To seek an end to taxation of personal and corporate income. This would be done through reductions of spending, other sources of income and gradual leading to eventual repeal of amendment that even allows income taxes. The first obvious step is a flat tax thus allowing the almost total abolishment of the IRS. 10% of the US budget could easily be cut and used to reduce deficit spending. Income tax is an obsolete concept and harmful to the nation and it’s citizens. It is literally armed robbery and unnecessary harassment. There are better ways to fund a government.A refocus of our foreign policy. For example either leaving the UN or drastically reducing our role in it. NATO the same way. Moving US bases out of Germany to Poland. Pulling out of places like Bosnia. Once North Korea was denuked then out of South Korea. Our focus on our real allies. That would include foreign policy to end oil dependence and thus remove much of our interest in the Middle East. Trade agreements would be fair. I would work to build internal solutions first however before entering negotiations from a weak stance.Total reform of immigration. An emphasis on people already proficient in English. End to birthright citizenship. Expulsion of “refugees” who have stayed past the crisis. Round up of people who’ve overstayed their visas. Agressive enforcement of deportation of Illegals. More so jailing of CEOs and HR people who hire Illegals. Not fines, but actual jail time for knowingly hiring Illegals on first offense. Fines are just cost of doing business. CEOs sitting in jail however would really change things. Prison sentences of 6 months 2nd offense, 12 months 3rd offense, 3 years 4th offense and 5 years for each time after that an Illegal is caught in the US at labor so as to work off the costs of catching and deporting them. 2nd offense would mean perm ban against US citizenship under any circumstances.On the flip side I’d change and open immigration to more poor people around the world and encourage people from places such as Eastern Europe, Vietnam and parts of Africa who have exemplary assimilation rates. Discourage immigration from places where assimilation is exceedingly poor. The primary criteria being that the individual is sane, doesn’t have an extensive criminal background, in particular sexual crimes or murder. Is not suffering from a chronic and in particular incurable disease. Wants to be an American and adopt American culture as their own. In particular we are looking for ambitious people with ideas and dreams. Our current system is extremely poor at this and tends to make people wait unreasonable times and denies people we want allowing in people we do not want. Our criteria would change also. Certain refugee status immigrants can go elsewhere as they are a better fit for those regions.I’d work at lowering costs of education and making college as available as possible. For example free college for military vets. College for people willing to work off the costs of college as government employees and serving undeserved communities in low paying jobs.I’d push for aggressive support of the 2nd including repealing the Brady act. Repeal of bans on fully automatic weapons. Support for including communications, gas masks, and similar military hardware as part of the 2nd.Election reforms would include requirement of ID for voting in national elections and independent certification of voter rolls including audits and random checks on voters to ensure they are actually who they say they are. The giving of a fingerprint to ensure no one voted twice. A paper backup for all ballots cast and automatic recounts comparing paper and electronic votes. Absentee ballots would require showing up at a police station, military base or embassy for ID and vote verification. Then transmitted both electronically and paper ballots as backups.I would push for allowing citizens to propose laws into the House and for national referendums to be required on certain kinds of laws. Obamacare and the Patriot act are examples of such laws. If 55% of the nation does not vote in favor of the referendum the law is automatically tossed.Term limits on a Federal level, and at state levels. 12 years is all you get. You can be president for 8 and 4 at something else, or you can be a rep for 3 terms or 2 terms in the Senate then your done. No more federal office, cabinet posts, ambassadorships and most especially not allowed to be a lobbyist. I want to see an end to career politicians. The term limit would also count half years for spouse. For example the first lady would burn 2 years of term limits up as 4 years of being first lady. The wife or husband of a Senate member would burn up 3 years of term limit per term.Automatic investigation of all income by any Federal elected official, high ranking cabinet and department posts. This will continue at least 10 years after they leave office. Every penny they make needs to be accounted for. A ban on fees for speaking arrangements and similar bribe mechanisms. Nor are former politicians allow to go sit on the board of companies they never had anything to do with or take lucrative consulting contracts in areas outside of their expertise. Work logs would be monitored to ensure there was actual work being done by former politicians for the money they receive to make it more difficult to pay bribes through jobs and contracts after a politician has left office. Public service should be just that, service. All of their assets should be held in blind trusts while they are in office. No investing is allowed while they are in office. Careful scrutiny of family, staff and friends will also be made. While this sounds expensive and it is, it is a whole lot cheaper to than the rampant fraud, theft and bribery going on today. Never again will a former president enter the office a poor man and leave a wealthy man having done nothing to earn that wealth.I’m out of space most likely but this is just the start.