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Bank of America's New Credit Card Targets Illegal Immigrants

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posted on Feb, 13 2007 @ 10:32 PM
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Worst idea ever! Exactly how do they expect the illegal immigrants to stay true to the contract and pay every cent of it back? They're here for money, so that they can send it back to their families in Mexico. With the cards, they can withdraw or charge a large fine and then go back to Mexico.

Not only that, but they can use false IDs to make accounts, and charge as many cards as they want and never return to pay it back.



posted on Feb, 13 2007 @ 10:52 PM
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Yeah I am having a hard time figuring out how they are going to collect as well.

If this is not a sting operation as stated before, then perhaps they are just going to collect the money up front and then shut the card off. I'm not sure what sort of legalities would play out there, but would they be able to pull something like that off since they are dealing with illegals?



posted on Feb, 13 2007 @ 11:04 PM
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Correct me if I'm wrong but I swear that you are required to have a SSN to open a bank account. Any interest paid to that account has to be reported on a 1099, and I think that money laundering laws also require the use of an SSN to open an account.



posted on Feb, 13 2007 @ 11:26 PM
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Is Bank of America SURE they want to be known for accomdating illegal immigrants? I mean, seriously, is that good publicity?



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 12:09 AM
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Originally posted by souls
How is it that it is spiraling out of control? I think it is a good idea. If there are people that by law are considered "illegal", living in this country, It's a very good idea to provide them with the same basic rights as driving licenses and such. They are not going anywhere, so what you want is that they remain unidentified and fly under the radar as they have for years. You should understand that the majority of these people are honest, hard working people who like you and your ancestors and mine, seek a better opportunity and life. You are not complaining when the European forefathers murdered the Natives for their land.


Um... No.

I honest to god do not see how the hell you can honestly think that.

THEY DO NOT LIVE HERE

TO BE A CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY IS NOT A RIGHT THAT ALL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could give a rats !% about you ancestors, my ancestors, Joe down the streets ancestors. The fact is.. they frikin came LEGALLY! which means we inspected and APPROVED them.

Lets open the borders so all the poor people of the world can come and take the benefits payed for by the middle class.


I understand if you want to help people, blah blah all the typical self righteous crap so that you can go to bed feeling a tiny itsy bit better about your self, like your better then every one else, but it is not practical AT ALL no ifs ands or buts about it.



It's a very good idea to provide them with the same basic rights


Not their rights. Simple as that. And if it comes down to it.. honestly, if it comes down to a bunch of Mexicans or Guatemalans, or hell lets invite all the Argentinians that can make the trip and be a naturalized citizen it will cause a civil war in this country! And rightfully so! And you can fight with your Mexican nationals as you try and take the land by influential force.




You are not complaining when the European forefathers murdered the Natives for their land.


I WOULD LOVE THAT!!!!

Honestly I would. I would be happy to hand over jobs, money, security and all the lovely BS they want from us if they beat us fair and square. So let Mexico officially invade, then we can literally kick them back south of the border. Might as well send treasonous people like you conspiring against the Union along with them.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 12:27 AM
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Originally posted by ferretman2
The are not 'Honest'..............

If they were they would of come the the United States of America LEGALLY!

The fact that they are here illegally and hide, shows that they are dishonest.

What part of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS don't some of you understand?

Aren't there laws regarding immigration?

Isn't there a LEGAL way to enter the USA?



If you came from a rotten life with no money and you wanted to give your kids a chance at life, you would do ANYTHING to make it happen.

These people aren't neccesarily killers or rapists. They have the same blood as you or I. They just don't want to live in a country where pain is God.

I hope in your next life that you are born into a war-torn country and are threatened with death and hunger on a daily basis, on top of having NO MONEY, then you will see how hard it will be to enter the U.S LEGALLY.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 12:35 AM
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When you enter a country a illegally you are breaking the law and you don't have any rights so to speak. That is unless you enter the US illegally at this rate legal American citizens will forge IDs as aliens in order to get the benefits.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 12:39 AM
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Originally posted by TrueAmerican


HA. lol, funny you should mention that! I thought about it earlier, I swear! And what happens when they refuse to open a checking account or give you a CC without your SS#??? Ahhhh, wait! I speak fluent spanish. hehehehehe, sneaky me. Now the possibilities are endless....

But they shouldn't be. That's the point. We might not agree on much Xphiles, but I'd be more than happy to join you on that venture anyday!


Well, if they refused to give me an account without giving a social security #, I will sue them for discrimination and make a big media fuss about it.


yeah, we agree here



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 12:43 AM
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Originally posted by Unrealised

Originally posted by ferretman2
The are not 'Honest'..............

If they were they would of come the the United States of America LEGALLY!

The fact that they are here illegally and hide, shows that they are dishonest.

What part of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS don't some of you understand?

Aren't there laws regarding immigration?

Isn't there a LEGAL way to enter the USA?



If you came from a rotten life with no money and you wanted to give your kids a chance at life, you would do ANYTHING to make it happen.

These people aren't neccesarily killers or rapists. They have the same blood as you or I. They just don't want to live in a country where pain is God.

I hope in your next life that you are born into a war-torn country and are threatened with death and hunger on a daily basis, on top of having NO MONEY, then you will see how hard it will be to enter the U.S LEGALLY.



Last i checked, Mrs. Gonzales having 8 kids and nothing to feed them is not my problem. NOR is it my country mens problem. It is Mexico's problem. I do not see Canada having problems and sneaking over the border. In fact, more AMERICANS migrated to Canada in the past 4 years. We have our own poor to deal with ok.. we don't need Mexico's poor waste seeping over the border when we cannot even help our own homeless, poor, inner city, everyday American education, we cannot even give proper health care to our OWN PEOPLE.... why the hell should a Mexican get it?



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 01:24 AM
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Last i checked, Mrs. Gonzales having 8 kids and nothing to feed them is not my problem. NOR is it my country mens problem. It is Mexico's problem. I do not see Canada having problems and sneaking over the border. In fact, more AMERICANS migrated to Canada in the past 4 years. We have our own poor to deal with ok.. we don't need Mexico's poor waste seeping over the border when we cannot even help our own homeless, poor, inner city, everyday American education, we cannot even give proper health care to our OWN PEOPLE.... why the hell should a Mexican get it?


Exactly, people think that we should just be the world's welfare program for country's who are unwiling to solve their own problems. We dont owe the mexicans a living.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 02:04 AM
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Originally posted by souls
How is it that it is spiraling out of control? I think it is a good idea. If there are people that by law are considered "illegal", living in this country, It's a very good idea to provide them with the same basic rights as driving licenses and such. They are not going anywhere, so what you want is that they remain unidentified and fly under the radar as they have for years. You should understand that the majority of these people are honest, hard working people who like you and your ancestors and mine, seek a better opportunity and life. You are not complaining when the European forefathers murdered the Natives for their land.


This anonymous post is in response to ATS thread: [url=http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread267304/pg2]Bank of America's New Credit Card Targets Illegal Immigrants[/ur

If the United States were to set policy on the basis on your ill conceived and naive notion of "human rights" then that means not only do we have to accept the millions of illegal Mexicans living here, we need to freely open our borders to an equal number which would be approximately 12 million people from every country on Earth. So if we take 12 million of the poorest, uneducated from every country on Earth to satisfy our "human rights" argument then that would equate to over 1 billion people that would be entitled to live in America.

Do you think the United States could support 1.5 -2 billion people living in this country with the same quality of life now, or do you think the picture would dramatically change? Think about what you are saying. Does your "human rights" and equality argument still seem tenable now? If you want to be fair and preach about "human rights" then be fair about it and let all the world's poor and uneducated take up residence here. More likely a scenario is you only want people from your country of choice to have that privilege and couldn't give a flying hoot about "human rights" for people from other countries like Saudia Arabia or Indonesia.

I seriously doubt you are really "human rights"; but what you are about is giving an unfair advantage to the Mexicans for whatever personal reasons you have.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 03:31 AM
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Originally posted by Rockpuck


Last i checked, Mrs. Gonzales having 8 kids and nothing to feed them is not my problem. NOR is it my country mens problem. It is Mexico's problem. I do not see Canada having problems and sneaking over the border. In fact, more AMERICANS migrated to Canada in the past 4 years. We have our own poor to deal with ok.. we don't need Mexico's poor waste seeping over the border when we cannot even help our own homeless, poor, inner city, everyday American education, we cannot even give proper health care to our OWN PEOPLE.... why the hell should a Mexican get it?



So, basically you have no empathy and no love for the poor in General. Safety and right to life have no borders.

They are not waste, they are human beings.

Show some human spirit and stop being so disgusting.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 04:43 AM
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Originally posted by Wildbob77
I'm just curious, who will end up paying when the illegal run up their charge card balance then go beck to wherever they came from. You have to remember that many of the illegal also are using fraudulent documents.

I have lived in Las Vegas for 8 years and I spent the first 4 years selling cars. We would loose one or more cars every month because the illegal would steal them. They would come in buy a car use all fake docs and take the car to Mexico. First dealers here let you drive the car away without having the financing locked up. Second once they took the car they had all the papers and tags they needed. So for the first week or two the car would not be reported stolen. This gives them time to take that nice new car back home. Dealers didn't really notice the theft until weeks go by and the customer never comes back to resign papers or turn the car back in. So in the end it costs us all more for insurance, medical care and other costs they seem to leave us to pay for them.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 06:31 AM
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Another reason to let the 'illegals' apply for BoA's credit cards...every penny spent using those cards will be tracked (as every and any plastic-card holder's transactions are) follow the trail, find the cardholder.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 06:42 AM
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This is a great idea, they will probably make quite a bit. I don't see what everyone's problem is.

Unless I am mistaken, there is no law stating that someone needs to be a citizen to have either a bank account, or a credit card.

If BofA chooses to offer credit to account holders who have no overdraft history then that is their choice.

Edit to add

Besides, BofA has always actively targeted the illegal immigrant population. After all, they were the first in Ca to have the Versatel machines in both Spanish and English.

[edit on 14-2-2007 by phoenixhasrisin]



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 07:40 AM
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I am planning to apply for this card myself.
If they ask for my SS# or any of the other "normal" information that any US citizen would have to provide, I will refuse. I will provide them with only the information that they are requiring from the "undocumented" population in the US.
If they refuse to give me the card.... I already have a lawyer lined up as well as the initial paperwork or the discrmination lawsuit against BoA.
The BoA in Dallas is suppose to be offering this card in the next few weeks.
By the way, I am a Native American but have blue eyes and blonde hair. I want to see what BoA is going to do on this since I am fairly sure that other americans are planning to do the same.
In the US, in order to obtain any type of credit, one must provide a work history, a credit history, a history of residence as well as a valid SS#. By the BoA making this move, they are now in jeopardy of reverse discrimination against valid US citizens
This is just wrong by BoA just as when Chase started offering home and buisness loans to "undocumented" people.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 08:56 AM
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Originally posted by souls
How is it that it is spiraling out of control? I think it is a good idea. If there are people that by law are considered "illegal", living in this country, It's a very good idea to provide them with the same basic rights as driving licenses and such. They are not going anywhere, so what you want is that they remain unidentified and fly under the radar as they have for years. You should understand that the majority of these people are honest, hard working people who like you and your ancestors and mine, seek a better opportunity and life. You are not complaining when the European forefathers murdered the Natives for their land.


So they can have the same rights..the rights we have to have these cards without documentation..? Are we to assume now that we can also be treated as equals and get cards without crudentials..?

They are not going anywhere..well, since they're undocumented and got here; you can't say with any certainty where they are from or where they are going.

Since you don't know who they are how can you say what they want?

And as for the Europeans allegedly murdering people..how can I complain? I wasn't around then and if I am going to be held to account for historical interpretation then equality will dictate the field be wide open..

Any views on the third world doubling in size every few decades, and how this would impact on the capacity of North America to accommodate such immense population rise, in addition to the estimates already coming across the border?

[edit on 14-2-2007 by Ross Cross]



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 09:57 AM
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Originally posted by Unrealised

Originally posted by Rockpuck


Last i checked, Mrs. Gonzales having 8 kids and nothing to feed them is not my problem. NOR is it my country mens problem. It is Mexico's problem. I do not see Canada having problems and sneaking over the border. In fact, more AMERICANS migrated to Canada in the past 4 years. We have our own poor to deal with ok.. we don't need Mexico's poor waste seeping over the border when we cannot even help our own homeless, poor, inner city, everyday American education, we cannot even give proper health care to our OWN PEOPLE.... why the hell should a Mexican get it?



So, basically you have no empathy and no love for the poor in General. Safety and right to life have no borders.

They are not waste, they are human beings.

Show some human spirit and stop being so disgusting.


No my self rightouse friend I honestly could give a damn about Mexicans, be it human or dog or any other living creature south of the border when it comes to them or my own nation.

NATION

Not SPECIES!

Jesus Christ honestly I fail to see the difficulty. Want to start a humanitarian expedition down to Mexico be my guest, I will even donate a few bucks for it, but don't bring those Mexicans north of the border to steal from us. It is NOT their right to be here, they can apply like every one else.

And yes, they are the worst of the worst, the scum and trash of society, the poor and uneducated. I do not want that seeping by the millions into my homeland. If they do want to come, they should not have the audacity to declare they are entitled to ANYTHING what so ever. I have no mercy for those who break the laws, trample on society, are so self absorbed they believe to be entitled to everything every one else has when they have no legal basis to claim it.

I owe Mexico nothing.



posted on Feb, 14 2007 @ 01:07 PM
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The illegal alien problem is way out of control. We need to quit giving up benefits to these illegals. Let the credit card companies seek honest, hard working, Americans instead of dishonest,criminal, aliens. People coming here as criminals are probably not intent on assimilating into American culture and are only here to rape the economy and send all their money back home. And that is the good ones. The others are just flat out gangsters, smugglers, and drug dealers. Here in Arizona, honest hard working citizens have been turned away from emergency rooms because illegal aliens have stiffed them on the bill too many times.

Let somebody learn to read and write English, understand the laws and show that they intend to obey them and be good citizens before showering the bennies on them.



posted on Feb, 20 2007 @ 08:37 AM
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Some more information on the credit card process for immigrants.



"We are willing to grant credit to someone with little or no credit history," said Lance Weaver, Bank of America's head of international card services, whose team designed the program based in part on the bank's experience in markets like Spain, which lack conventional credit bureaus to rate a client's credit-worthiness.

The credit cards involved aren't cheap. They come with a high interest rate and an upfront fee. And the idea of catering to illegal immigrants is controversial.

Bank of America defends the program, saying it complies with U.S. banking and antiterrorism laws. Company executives say the initiative isn't about politics, but rather about meeting the needs of an untapped group of potential customers.

"These people are coming here for quality of life, and they deserve somebody to give them a chance to achieve that quality of life," said Brian Tuite, the bank's director of Latin America card operations and one of the architects of the program.

Typical of the new card's customers is Antonio Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant whose only major asset is a white, 1996 Ford Thunderbird, which he drives to the two restaurants where he works each day on opposite sides of Los Angeles. Sanchez, who says he sneaked across the border a decade ago, has been a customer of Bank of America's East Hollywood branch for nine years. He has no borrowing history and no Social Security number.

To obtain a Bank of America Visa card with a $500 line of credit, Sanchez had to put down $99. If he stays within his $500 limit and pays his balances in a timely fashion, he will receive his $99 security payment back in three to six months, and his credit limit might be increased.

"I always wanted to start building credit to buy a home, but I couldn't," said Sanchez, a father of three children who earns about $25,000 a year from his two jobs. "When a senorita at the bank told me about this card, I couldn't miss the opportunity to get it. You need credit to succeed in this country."

The variable annual percentage rate charged on Sanchez's card is 21.24 percent, higher than the average interest rate of 18.1 percent card issuers nationwide charge on unpaid balances, according to the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter based in Carpinteria, Calif.

David Robertson, publisher of the report, said a rate of 21.24 percent is "unquestionably high."

"If that's the rate you're offered, it's a pretty safe bet you're in a high-risk group," he said.

To assess an applicant, the bank employs "judgmental lending," a concept pioneered by MBNA Corp., the credit-card company that Bank of America acquired in January 2006. In essence, the bank bases its evaluation of a potential client's credit-worthiness on a subjective review by its employees, rather than on standardized financial data crunched by a computer.

Unorthodox initiatives like the new credit-card program may be crucial to Bank of America's long-term success. In the past the bank, which operates in 31 states and the District of Columbia, grew mostly by buying up other banks. Now, however, it is bumping up against a regulatory cap that bars any U.S. bank from an acquisition that would give it more than 10 percent of the nation's total bank deposits. That means Bank of America's only way to grow domestically is to sell more products to existing customers and to attract new ones.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank after Citigroup Inc. in terms of market capitalization, estimates that there are 28 million Hispanics in its operating area and that most of them, regardless of their immigration status, don't have a bank. It hopes the allure of a credit card will persuade hundreds of thousands more Latinos to open accounts.

"If we don't disproportionately grow in the Hispanic (market) ... we aren't going to grow" as a bank, said Liam McGee, Bank of America's consumer and small-business banking chief.

Illegal immigrants have typically relied on loan sharks and neighborhood finance shops for credit. That has begun to change. A few years ago, a handful of community banks in the U.S. began offering mortgages to illegal immigrants, as long as they could prove they had stable employment and paid U.S. taxes with an individual tax identification number, or ITIN.

In December 2005, Wells Fargo & Co. began extending mortgages to consumers with an ITIN. The bank is evaluating a pilot program in Los Angeles and Orange counties before deciding whether to expand it.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said banking products aimed at illegal immigrants "reinforce the need for a temporary worker program" that the Bush administration has been promoting. That program would screen, tax and otherwise regulate immigrant workers and, the administration contends, would squeeze out illegal workers who now use forged or stolen documents to get jobs, driver's licenses and occasionally credit.

Anti-money-laundering regulations passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks put more pressure on banks to verify customers' identity and watch for suspicious transactions, but they don't require banks to ascertain whether account holders are in the U.S. legally. Most banks require a Social Security number or ITIN to open an account, but regulations also allow them to accept othth store credit cards. "Once you capture them, they become very loyal," says Ron Azarkman, chief executive of La Curacao, which has developed its own in-house credit-ratings system. "This is a promising market, as long as it is carefully managed," he says, adding that the average APR charged by his company is 22.9 percent.

Bank of America hasn't launched an ad campaign for the new card. For the time being, it is counting on word of mouth that starts with its employees at each banking center. Many of the Spanish-speaking account holders who come to teller Luz Quintanilla's window at Bank of America's East Hollywood branch, already have a Social Security number and regular credit card with the bank. But she suggests in Spanish that "maybe you have family or friends who don't have a Social Security number, but wish to build their credit."

In selling the card, a major challenge is to persuade immigrants who are sometimes wary of plastic that holding a credit card is an important step on the way to obtaining loans for big-ticket items, such as a car or even a home. Pictures of a check book, credit card, car and house in ascending order illustrate this concept in one pamphlet in Spanish and English titled "How to Build Your Credit, Step by Step."







 
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