4 Advantages of Online Banking
These days, a lot of people are using online banking platforms more and more. Banking from the comfort of your sofa, at any time of the day or night, makes everything you do with your finances a bit easier.
Here are four advantages of online banking.
1. Pay your bills online
You can use your bank's website to pay your bills online and never worry about your check getting lost in the mail. Most banks have a Bill Pay section in which you set up payees.
You only need to fill out the information once, and then you simply choose that payee every time you want to pay them.
Most banks will let you set up a recurring automatic payment in the same amount every month. This feature is helpful for an expense like a car payment or insurance policy that doesn't change from month to month.
Alternatively, you can authorize a payee, such as an electric utility or mortgage provider, to automatically debit the amount of money you owe from your account. You can set up the automatic debit by first going to the company's website and creating an online log-in if you haven't already done so.
You will then need to go to the billing or payments part of the website and click on a link that mentions automatic payments. You will have to to provide the number of your checking account, as well as your bank's routing number.
2. View your transactions
Online banking allows you to access your account history and transactions from anywhere. This is the quickest way to see whether a transaction has cleared your account. It also enables you to find out about any unauthorized transactions more quickly, so you can dispute them right away.
Many banks will show you your pending transactions. These are transactions that were initiated on the current business day or after the close of business on the previous business day and so have not yet been completed.
Pending transactions may not reflect the exact amount of the purchase. For example, if you pay for a bill at a restaurant with your debit card, the tip will often not be included in the amount of the pending transaction. The entire amount, including tip, will be shown in your account once your bank has authorized the total payment.
3. Transfer money between accounts
You can quickly transfer money between accounts when you do it online. It's more convenient than going to a bank in person or using an automated phone service, which requires you to provide information when prompted.
If you are transferring money between different types of accounts at the same bank, the transfer should go through on the same day. If you're transferring money to an account at a different bank, it may take up to three business days.
4. Bank on your phone with a mobile app
Most banks offer a mobile app that allows you to more easily take advantage of online banking on your phone. You can quickly check up on your accounts when you're out shopping, transfer funds so you don't end up overdrawing, or make sure a merchant hasn't double-charged you.
Banking apps typically let you deposit checks by using the camera on your phone to take photos of the front and the endorsed back of the check. You usually have to write something like "For mobile deposit only at [name of bank]" on the back of the check as well.
