Most financial institutions offer online banking services to its customers, and more and more people are relying on the Internet to get their banking activities done. If you haven’t yet discovered online banking, here are a few reasons why you might want to consider it.
Convenience
Online banking allows you to get your banking activities done whenever you want. You don’t have to rush to a bank during the hours it’s open to deal with your banking needs. Online banking is available to you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This makes banking faster and easier, and more efficient. No more rushing off from work to get there in time, and no more waiting in lines. Just log into your account online, and do what you need to do whenever you need to do it.
Mobility
With online banking, you can access your accounts not only whenever you want, but also wherever you want. Many financial institutions have created mobile applications that put your bank at your fingertips. If you’re on vacation or away on business, no need to worry about finding your bank’s nearest location. Online banking allows you to make sure you take care of payments and other time-sensitive banking activities no matter where you are. As long as you have a cell phone or other electronic device with Internet access, you can take care of your banking business wherever you are.
Environmentally Friendly
Most banks offer online statements and other documents so that you don’t have to receive everything in the mail. This keeps your records organized and in one location where you can easily access them. And it saves paper. Of course, if you prefer the paper, many banks give you the option.
Hands-on Banking
With all of your banking information available at the click of mouse, you can access it whenever you want. You can view all of your transactions at any time to keep up with your spending, instead of waiting for your statement in the mail. You can pay your bills online whenever you want and receive the confirmation immediately when the payment has gone through. You can also transfer money between accounts without having to go into a bank. That way, if you are in need of cash in one account, you won’t have to wait to go to your bank to make the transfer, when it might be too late.
Innovative Tools
Many online websites offer a comprehensive set of tools that you would otherwise not have access to. These include budgeting and forecasting tools, financial planning features, investment analysis tools, and loan calculators. If you have budgeting problems and want to see what you spend most of your money on, there are tools that create pie charts and graphs to show where your money is going. If you want to save up a certain amount of money by a certain date, there are tools that can help you calculate how much you should save each week or month that will help you reach your goal. Some online banking services even offer online tax forms and tax preparation.
Automated Services
Online banking will do all the thinking and planning so you don’t have to. You won’t have to worry about remembering to pay your auto loan bill or your student loan bill. You can set up automatic payments so that these bills will be paid directly from your bank account on the day they are due. No more keeping track of due dates and no more late fees. In addition, most employers can set up automatic payments to your bank account. Instead of receiving your paycheck and taking it to the bank to deposit the funds into your account, the money will be there instantly when your employer makes the transaction.
Drawbacks of Online Banking
While online banking has many benefits, you should also consider the possible downsides. Since everything is done online, it’s less personal. If you have questions, you can’t talk with someone face-to-face. Many banks do offer online customer service options, such as chatting with a representative online or calling a customer service number. Of course, it’s not the same as discussing any issues in person.
In addition, as with any online service, you are subject to any technical issues the website may experience. So if the website is down for a certain amount of hours or days, you will be completely cut off from accessing your accounts online. If you need to log on to pay a bill, and the website is not functioning correctly, you may have to wait until it’s fixed to pay, or find a local bank.
Since everything is online, there are certain security issues to keep in mind. Accounts may be subject to phishing, hacker attacks, malware, and other unauthorized activity. However, since your bank account is so accessible, you are likely to notice anything unusual or any funds missing and find a security breach quickly. Banks have also developed encryption software to protect your account information, but no system is perfect.
If you decide to switch to online banking, you should keep in mind the possible downsides and make sure you are prepared them. Instead of relying completely on online banking, it’s a good idea to make sure you still know of a local branch that you can go to if you ever need to. Still, online banking offers numerous benefits that may outweigh the possible downsides. If you want to save your time and energy, online banking might be worth looking into.
