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Introduction to Online and Mobile Banking

Technology continues to transform our daily lives, and banking is no exception. Today, you can practically manage all of your personal finances online. In fact, some financial institutions operate completely online. When choosing a new financial institution or credit card, you should consider the online and mobile services that are offered, factoring them into your final decision. When choosing a financial institution, it’s always important to review the basics such as account requirements and fees. However, when it comes to online and mobile banking, it is all about accessibility and convenience.

Online

Financial institutions are promoting their online services more and more. Some financial institutions even offer reductions in fees if you do all your banking online and never enter a physical branch. Online services have developed to the point where you can do pretty much anything a teller can, if not more. 
Key services include:

  • At-a-glance account information
  • Account alerts
  • Access to prior statements
  • Transaction search
  • Automatic savings plan
  • Money transfers
  • E-bills and bill pay

Mobile

The mobile landscape has more variables to navigate, but thankfully the basics aren’t hard to find. Most importantly, look for a native app. This means that the financial institution has developed its own application, as opposed to just offering a mobile site (m.dot). Most apps are developed for the iPhone and Android, so if your phone’s operating system is not built on one of those platforms, using a mobile site may actually be your only option. Be sure to check which platforms a financial institution’s application is available on. You don’t want to open a new account, just to find out their application is not available on your phone.

More and more financial institutions are offering mobile deposits, which allow you to deposit money in your account simply by uploading a photo of the check.
 

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