Online banking provides you with speed, efficiency, and security when it comes to managing your accounts and building up your savings account. Online banking is one of the easiest ways to manage your accounts as you can schedule online bill payment along with transfers to savings accounts and online money market accounts. Keeping close tabs on your finances will help you to be prepared for economic problems that may come along because of personal problems such as a job loss. Here are some of the biggest reasons for making the switch to online banking:
Benefits of Online Banking:
- Efficiency – with online banking you are able to effectively manage every financial account you have from retirement to CDs, savings, loans, and securities.
- Convenience – this is one of the biggest attractions to online banking as you don’t need to physically leave your home to manage your bank account. You also do not need to worry about calling anyone to transfer money and you have access to your account 24/7 and not just during bank hours. Many of the online banks are now allowing you to scan a picture of your paycheck and deposit it from your pc or smartphone, where you will see the money land in your account within minutes. This can also save you a lot of time as you no longer need to drive to the bank to deposit your paycheck.
- Transaction speed – in a matter of seconds you can set up transfers from your savings account to your checking account and vice versa. You also can schedule transfers to your money market account or other investments and credit card accounts. This is easy to do and it’s much faster than the ATM processing speeds.
- Protection – what happens if you are out of state and you don’t have time to go to your bank or to call them to check on your account? Online account access allows you to have unlimited access to your accounts no matter where you are and to ensure that your account is protected. Having the ability to constantly monitor your accounts will allow you to quickly report an error like if someone does compromise your account.
Do Your Part
In order to provide your online bank account with the maximum amount of protection you need to do your part to keep your account safe. Only access your bank from your personal computer and one that has a high virus protection program on it. Using a program to protect against online threats will reduce the chance of your bank account information being compromised. Check the URL to ensure that the site is secured. Watch out for emails that appear to be from your bank and do not click on links inside the emails as this may be a phishing scam. Always enter the online banks through their official address. Create a strong password as this too will add an extra layer of protection to your online bank account.
If you haven’t made the switch to online banking, now is the time to do so! Opening an online savings accounts may offer you higher interest rates if you are a new customer. The United States Post Office has announced they may be closing their Saturday delivery service, which means you may not get statements and other important bank information for 3 days. Online account access gives you the ability to check messages from the bank and to properly manage your accounts without needing to wait for paper statements!
If you’re going to bank online, ensure you’re getting the highest interest rate possible! Compare the best money market rates and savings account rates on RateCatcher.com’s comparison charts.