It is now possible to pay bills, move money between accounts, set up direct debits and standing orders, and even apply for overdrafts and credit all from your own home, all online and on your own PC.
Despite this convenience, for many people there is still a lingering mistrust of the technology involved : will your money be safe if you bank online? The answer is, for the most part, yes - so long as you follow a few basic principles.
Firstly, if you have the option to choose your own password for online services, then make sure that the password you decide on is secure. This means that it shouldn't be easily guessable - avoid using the name of your pet or child, for example, and don't use the numbers of your birthday. An ideal password should be easily memorable, but hard to guess, and using a combination of letters and numbers is highly recommended. For example, a good password could be the name of a food you hate, along with a number that is significant in some way to you - e.g. mushrooms37. Such a password would be almost impossible for someone to guess, but will also be very easy for you to remember.
One the subject of passwords, it's vital that you never give out your personal details in response to a 'phishing' attack. Phishing is a subject worthy of it's own article, but in brief: if you receive an email purporting to be from your bank, asking you to reconfirm your details or to log into your account urgently, then ignore it. It will NOT have been sent by your bank, but by fraudsters attempting to steal your identity.
Another important security measure is to avoid logging in to your online banking service on a publicly accessible computer - for example, at work or in an internet cafe. You can never be sure what details about your internet use are being stored on a PC you don't own, and even if you log out of the service when you've finished it's highly possible that the next user of the machine could, with effort, discover your details and log on to your account.
The final, and perhaps most important thing you should do to protect your banking security is to ensure that you keep your virus checking software up to date. It's all to easy for your Windows PC to be infected by so-called spyware, via email or visiting unethical web sites, which criminals can use to intercept your passwords and other information they can use to illegally gain access to your account. Having well known and up to date virus protection software installed is a highly effective way to prevent this from happening.
Also remember that if the worst happens and your account is somehow compromised, any losses will have to be taken by the bank and not you, so long as you can show that you haven't been reckless with your online security. Following the above measures will show that you have taken all reasonable precautions, and so will not be liable for any losses that may occur, however unlikely.
For those of you who have never tried online banking you really do not know what you are missing. It is such a convenient way to pay your bills, keep track of the money in your accounts and make your investments. The beauty of it is that it is all done on secure websites with passwords and layers of protection for your money. This is only part of the convenience.
As well, it is done from your home or office computer during the hours that are easy for you to manage and not necessarily the hours your bank is open. If you have your pay checks deposited directly into your bank account you may never have to visit your bank during business hours. An ATM can provide you cash and you can pay your bills over the Internet. Not only is this convenient, but it usually costs you less to use these services then to do your banking in person.
The use of an Internet service through your bank offers you many services beyond simply paying your bills. You can also get your bank statements this way instead of having them mailed to you. You can transfer money between your various bank accounts. This means all you need to keep in your checking account is just enough to pay your bills until you transfer funds in to pay the next bill.
That allows you to keep your money in your savings account for longer and so to make the maximum amount of interest on your money. You can even use your banks web service to apply for loans or change your loan repayment structure. These applications are all available online. There are even banks that operate solely by offering online banking services.
They have been nicknamed virtual banks. These have the advantage of doing everything for you over the Internet and so can offer higher interest rates and lower costs as they keep their costs down by not having a facility for you to visit.
Other reasons to use these growing web based bank services is that you will never get a check returned to you because bank personnel could not read your handwriting or because you wrote the wrong information on the check. It will be right all the time because you will be feeding it directly into the computer.
You will not have to worry about being late with payments either. As long as you pay the bill a couple of days before its due you will be on time every time. That means having to work late, being ill, or out of town will never again make your payment late; five minutes on a computer, even at an internet cafe and you will be able to pay your bills using your online banking service.
Both Nicholas Hunt & Craig Thornburrow are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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