Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Capital One shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Capital One offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Capital One at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Capital One? Wrong! If the Capital One is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Capital One then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Capital One? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Capital One and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Capital One wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Capital One then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Capital One site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Capital One, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Capital One, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{Infobox_Company| company_name = Capital One Financial Corporation| company_logo = | company_type = Public company ()| slogan = What's in your wallet?| foundation = 1988| location =
McLean, Virginia, USA, [CEO
Gary Perlin,
CFOJory Berson, President of U.S. Card
David Lawson, CEO of Capital One Auto Finance
Larry Klane, Exec. VP of Global Financial Services]| products =
Credit Cards, Loans, Savings]-based bank holding company specializing in credit cards,
mortgage, auto loans,
bank, and Savings account products. Founded in 1988 by Richard Fairbank and
Nigel Morris, the firm was a pioneer of the mass marketing of credit cards in the early 1990s and is now the fourth largest customer of the United States Postal Service.
In 2002, Capital One won the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for its innovative strategy specifically related to their credit card products. In 2005, Capital One entered the
retail banking market with its acquisition of
New Orleans, Louisiana-based Hibernia National Bank.
On March 12, 2006, Capital One announced an agreement to acquire Melville, New York-based North Fork Bank for $14.6 billion U.S. dollars. The merger was completed on
December 1, 2006. Upon the completion of the merger, the bank is to be renamed as "Capital One Bank".http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=70667&p=irol-newsArticle2&ID=830144&highlight=, CapitalOne.com, accessed July 3, 2006
Unusual growth
In its growth, Capital One has bucked a few conventional wisdoms within the financial services, such as avoiding the precariousness of companies that only do consumer lending -- also known as consumer lending "wiktionary:monoline." This risk arises from the often cyclical nature of consumer lending; it can be very profitable industry in good times and markedly unprofitable in bad, such that a monoline company -- which lacks other sources of revenue -- will go out of business or be acquired fairly cheaply during hard times.
This is one reason that most consumer lending monolines in the past 20 years have either gone out of business (e.g., The Money Store,
NextCard, Royal Acceptance) or have been acquired (e.g.,
MBNA, HSBC Finance, Bank One Corporation); Capital One is notable for having experienced neither.
This precarious nature of remaining a monoline prompted Capital One's entry into retail banking in 2005, which has been similarly uncommon. Whereas many banks often expand into consumer lending, Capital One is the first and only consumer lending monoline to go the other direction and expand into retail banking with major acquisitions (the purchases of Hibernia and North Fork).
However, Capital One's
stock performance in the latter half of this decade has largely been flat, prompting modest speculation among Wall Street analysts that the company may be a ripe acquisition target or merger partner.
Marketing
Capital One is a major sponsor of sports teams. In 2001 Capital One became the principal sponsor of the Florida Citrus Bowl, an annual
college football game played in Orlando, Florida, renaming it the Capital One Bowl. In the UK, the company currently sponsors football, Football League Championship club
Sheffield United and
Football League One club Nottingham Forest.
International operations
Capital One commenced operations in Canada in 1996. Its head office is located in Toronto,
Ontario. Unlike its diversified American parent, the Canadian business currently operates solely in the credit card market.
The
UK headquarters of Capital One is in
Nottingham,
England.
Capital One also has a presence in Spain, with the local office located in Madrid.
The company was once active in
France and South Africa, but has since withdrawn from these markets.
Diversity
Capital One received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the
Human Rights Campaign starting in 2003, the second year of the report. Capital One's American division has a large number of foreign-born employees: in 2003 it sponsored more people for H-1B visas than any other
financial services company (19th overall), H1B.info though in 2005 it was 4th in financial services (34th overall). Top 500 H1B Visa Sponsors 2005
Controversy
Like most credit card companies that issue cards to people with poor or no credit (called "
Subprime lending"), Capital One offers multiple cards with low limits to some consumers, which can result in multiple over-limit and late payment fees and is considered by some consumer advocates to be predatory. Defenders of the practice argue that credit issuers should not be held responsible for borrowers' decisions.
To date, Capital One has not disclosed its customers' total credit limits to Credit reporting agency. This could result in lower credit scores for the company's customers, since it could artificially increase a customer's utilization, a measure of credit balance as a percentage of credit line. Capital One recently announced an end to this practice, and has announced that it will report credit limits to credit reporting agencies by the end of 2007.
Business areas
Capital One Financial Corporation is the
Holding company of Capital One Auto Finance, or COAF, based in
Plano, Texas. After buying PeopleFirst, it became the largest Internet auto lender, as well as one of the top US auto lenders overall.
The company, which previously sold auto loans only through
direct mail and
Car dealerships, lets auto owners refinance existing auto loans and shoppers apply for new auto loans online. A decision usually comes within 15 minutes, after which the buyer receives a "
blank check" for up to the approved auto loan amount, which the buyer uses to purchase a car. To the dealership, it is as if the buyer were paying cash. The checks can be used to purchase a new or
Used car, refinance, or buy out a
lease (providing the Negotiation (process) of cash).
COAF sells auto loans across the credit spectrum, then
securitizes and resells them.
Unlike other financial service companies of similar size, Capital One is notable for abstaining from student lending.
Management & corporate governance
Key executives include:
- Richard Fairbank Chief Executive Officer, President
- Gary Perlin Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Principal Accounting Officer
- John Finneran Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Company secretary
- Matthew Schuyler Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
- J. Herbert Boydstun Executive Vice President;President, Banking
- Larry Klane Executive Vice President, Global Financial Services
- David Lawson (Executive) Executive Vice President, President and Chief Executive Officer, Capital One Auto Finance
- Peter Schnall Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer
- Gregor Bailar Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer
The current members of the board of directors of Capital One are:
See also
References
External links
- Capital One's web site
- COF Profile from Yahoo Inc.
- Capital One Auto Loans
{{Infobox_Company| company_name = Capital One Financial Corporation| company_logo = | company_type =
Public company ()| slogan = What's in your wallet?| foundation = 1988| location = McLean, Virginia,
USA, [CEOGary Perlin, CFO
Jory Berson, President of U.S. Card
David Lawson, CEO of Capital One Auto Finance
Larry Klane, Exec. VP of Global Financial Services]| products = Credit Cards,
Loans, Savings]-based bank holding company specializing in
credit cards,
mortgage, auto loans, bank, and Savings account products. Founded in 1988 by Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris, the firm was a pioneer of the mass marketing of credit cards in the early 1990s and is now the fourth largest customer of the United States Postal Service.
In 2002, Capital One won the
Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for its innovative strategy specifically related to their credit card products. In 2005, Capital One entered the
retail banking market with its acquisition of
New Orleans, Louisiana-based
Hibernia National Bank.
On March 12, 2006, Capital One announced an agreement to acquire
Melville, New York-based
North Fork Bank for $14.6 billion U.S. dollars. The merger was completed on
December 1, 2006. Upon the completion of the merger, the bank is to be renamed as "Capital One Bank".http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=70667&p=irol-newsArticle2&ID=830144&highlight=, CapitalOne.com, accessed July 3, 2006
Unusual growth
In its growth, Capital One has bucked a few conventional wisdoms within the
financial services, such as avoiding the precariousness of companies that only do consumer lending -- also known as consumer lending "
wiktionary:monoline." This risk arises from the often cyclical nature of consumer lending; it can be very profitable industry in good times and markedly unprofitable in bad, such that a monoline company -- which lacks other sources of revenue -- will go out of business or be acquired fairly cheaply during hard times.
This is one reason that most consumer lending monolines in the past 20 years have either gone out of business (e.g., The Money Store, NextCard, Royal Acceptance) or have been acquired (e.g., MBNA, HSBC Finance, Bank One Corporation); Capital One is notable for having experienced neither.
This precarious nature of remaining a monoline prompted Capital One's entry into retail banking in 2005, which has been similarly uncommon. Whereas many banks often expand into consumer lending, Capital One is the first and only consumer lending monoline to go the other direction and expand into retail banking with major acquisitions (the purchases of Hibernia and North Fork).
However, Capital One's stock performance in the latter half of this decade has largely been flat, prompting modest speculation among
Wall Street analysts that the company may be a ripe acquisition target or merger partner.
Marketing
Capital One is a major sponsor of sports teams. In 2001 Capital One became the principal sponsor of the Florida Citrus Bowl, an annual
college football game played in Orlando, Florida, renaming it the
Capital One Bowl. In the UK, the company currently sponsors football,
Football League Championship club Sheffield United and Football League One club Nottingham Forest.
International operations
Capital One commenced operations in Canada in 1996. Its head office is located in Toronto,
Ontario. Unlike its diversified American parent, the Canadian business currently operates solely in the credit card market.
The UK headquarters of Capital One is in Nottingham, England.
Capital One also has a presence in
Spain, with the local office located in
Madrid.
The company was once active in
France and
South Africa, but has since withdrawn from these markets.
Diversity
Capital One received a 100% rating on the
Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2003, the second year of the report. Capital One's American division has a large number of foreign-born employees: in 2003 it sponsored more people for
H-1B visas than any other financial services company (19th overall), H1B.info though in 2005 it was 4th in financial services (34th overall). Top 500 H1B Visa Sponsors 2005
Controversy
Like most credit card companies that issue cards to people with poor or no credit (called "Subprime lending"), Capital One offers multiple cards with low limits to some consumers, which can result in multiple over-limit and late payment fees and is considered by some consumer advocates to be predatory. Defenders of the practice argue that credit issuers should not be held responsible for borrowers' decisions.
To date, Capital One has not disclosed its customers' total credit limits to Credit reporting agency. This could result in lower credit scores for the company's customers, since it could artificially increase a customer's utilization, a measure of credit balance as a percentage of credit line. Capital One recently announced an end to this practice, and has announced that it will report credit limits to credit reporting agencies by the end of 2007.
Business areas
Capital One Financial Corporation is the
Holding company of Capital One Auto Finance, or COAF, based in Plano, Texas. After buying PeopleFirst, it became the largest Internet auto lender, as well as one of the top US auto lenders overall.
The company, which previously sold auto loans only through direct mail and
Car dealerships, lets auto owners refinance existing auto loans and shoppers apply for new auto loans online. A decision usually comes within 15 minutes, after which the buyer receives a "
blank check" for up to the approved auto loan amount, which the buyer uses to purchase a car. To the dealership, it is as if the buyer were paying cash. The checks can be used to purchase a new or Used car, refinance, or buy out a
lease (providing the Negotiation (process) of cash).
COAF sells auto loans across the credit spectrum, then securitizes and resells them.
Unlike other financial service companies of similar size, Capital One is notable for abstaining from student lending.
Management & corporate governance
Key executives include:
- Richard Fairbank Chief Executive Officer, President
- Gary Perlin Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Principal Accounting Officer
- John Finneran Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Company secretary
- Matthew Schuyler Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
- J. Herbert Boydstun Executive Vice President;President, Banking
- Larry Klane Executive Vice President, Global Financial Services
- David Lawson (Executive) Executive Vice President, President and Chief Executive Officer, Capital One Auto Finance
- Peter Schnall Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer
- Gregor Bailar Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer
The current members of the
board of directors of Capital One are:
See also
References
External links
- Capital One's web site
- COF Profile from Yahoo Inc.
- Capital One Auto Loans
