Microsoft Money: Innovative Innovation Or Business As Usual?
With the possibility of high-profile moves by Microsoft, personal finance professionals can also profit from these strategic moves. Microsoft Money may have very little impact on your personal finances, but the significance of the move will be felt by many Personal Finance experts in the personal finance industry. So, let us take a look at Microsoft Money and its implications on Personal Finance.
The key innovation in Microsoft Money is the introduction of a new payment mechanism. As many people use credit cards for transactions, Microsoft has introduced a new financial instrument called Bill Payments. Once you have set up Bill Payments as a payment option, it becomes possible to store and convert all your old money into Bill Payments. You can then simply pay for goods and services with Bill Payments, using Bill Payments or using your credit card.
It would not be wrong to say that this is one of the biggest innovations in Microsoft Money. For those who have used credit cards for payments, this method offers a number of advantages over conventional methods of payment. For example, it eliminates a lot of book keeping that takes place when you need to make credit card payments or any other type of payments.
Another innovation in Microsoft Money is the inclusion of what are known as recurring payments. If you had previously used a recurring transaction (for example, you may have received a telephone bill), this feature allows you to continue receiving these bills via Bill Payments.
In addition, Microsoft Money allows you to go online to track your Bill Payments. This will enable you to monitor the payment history of your Bill Payments for many years, providing a record of your Bill Payments for the future.
One of the reasons why many Personal Finance experts see Microsoft Money as a massive opportunity is because of the flexibility that Microsoft offers. If you make some small changes to your Bill Payments arrangement, you could potentially see very large changes in your finances in the next few years. There is a lot of room for experimenting with Bill Payments, especially if you are a bit of a control freak!
The other reason why Microsoft Money is so exciting is because it means that you can transfer money to family members or friends. If you transfer funds using your credit card, you are limited to transferring only a certain amount of money, whereas with Microsoft Money, you can transfer thousands of dollars or euros to just about anyone.
One area where Microsoft Money is not so innovative is the fact that all your existing bills will still have to be paid. However, once you set up Bill Payments as a payment option, you will be able to convert your old bills to Bill Payments, so that you never have to worry about paying for things again.
The reason why Microsoft Money is considering an innovative financial instrument is because it opens up a whole new market to Personal Finance practitioners. Since the introduction of Bill Payments, the opportunities for improvement have been enormous. As new innovations are introduced, there is sure to be a lot of ‘splash’ about Microsoft Money.
If you think that Microsoft Money is too futuristic to be useful, you are mistaken. If you look closely at the products, you will see that there are already plenty of great innovations which will help to help Personal Finance professionals solve their clients’ problems.
Remember that Personal Finance professionals will benefit from all these innovations. By comparing the pros and cons of Microsoft Money with conventional methods of payment, you will be better placed to decide which approach is more suitable for your personal finances.