Online Banking

Traditional to modern

One of the best things about the internet, from my viewpoint, is the advent of online banking. I just love the convenience of it.

Online banking was perhaps viewed with suspicion when it first arrived on the web, but it quickly established itself as the preferred option for many bank customers.  Nowadays, it seems that the majority of Americans are turning away from traditional banking services and choosing online banking instead. In fact, there are now several big banks that are exclusively internet based.

It’s no surprise that online banking has been so readily accepted. The internet has given users a new and improved choice of how they conduct everyday affairs, including banking and shopping. When manufacturers and retailers started selling their products online, with the option to pay online too, then online banking seemed the obvious next step. One by one, all the major banks started to offer this additional facility and the online banking revolution was underway. 

For me and most others who do it, online banking just makes sense.  The main advantage is that you don’t have to take the time to drive (or in my case, walk) to the bank and stand in a queue waiting to be served. You don’t have to know the time the bank opens or closes. If your local bank branch closes or relocates to a different town there is little impact on you. Online banking offers you a way to do all of your banking transactions with greater convenience and efficiency. Convenience because you can do online banking on any computer with internet access, at home or at work, at any time of the day or night, on weekdays or weekends.  Efficiency because the transactions are being done instantly, electronically, while you watch, with little chance of error. No matter how careful the person serving you at a traditional bank counter is, things can go wrong, like a bill slip going astray. Also, you don’t have to spend time visiting individual companies to pay their bills, or have to mail checks to them.

Of course, there is a downside to online banking: the question of security. Most banks have secure encrypted sites, but there are always those who will try to breach the security. The most frequently used scam is called phishing, where you are sent an email purporting to be from your bank and asking you to input your log-in details including your password.  The scammers can then use the information to access your account. The problem is, many people fall for this type of con, so always be sure to read the guidelines on security that come with your online banking facility.

For me, there is no question now of going back to traditional banking. Of course, I do occasionally have to visit the bank proper to pay in checks, but every other banking transaction can be carried out at home on my computer. Many people thought online banking wouldn’t catch on; now most who use it consider it an invaluable service.