Advice on online banking, mobile banking, online bill payment, and how to protect yourself from online fraud.

Mobile banking gives us greater power and control over our personal finances. We don’t need to coordinate our schedule with our bank’s operating hours, and we can conduct various types of banking activities wherever we are, whenever we choose to do so. Having this type of mobile access also lets us choose to do our banking transactions as soon as they need to be done, provided we have our laptop were smartphone with us. But greater opportunities for access can sometimes need greater opportunities for thieves and scammers as well. However, the good news is that the fear is far...

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The fees and charges we pay to our banks can add up over time. Considering that many of us use the same banking institution for years or even decades at a time, paying even just a few dollars more in fees each month can end up costing us a lot of money. After all, it’s easy to keep doing business with the same institution, since switching banks can take a bit of time and effort. But in some cases it may be worth considering making the switch. There are many online banking institutions that have successfully transitioned from the traditional...

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It’s rare these days to find anyone who doesn’t do at least some of their banking online. Online banking is convenient, and many institutions offer free bill pay services and even smartphone apps that let you deposit checks into your account without actually having to visit the bank. And in some respects online banking can provide a certain measure of security, since you don’t have to worry about losing checks that you want to deposit or be concerned that your payments by check get lost in the mail. But online banking also comes with its own security risks. The key...

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The Internet has changed the way we save for retirement, make our investment decisions, and manage virtually every aspect of our financial portfolios. Even our local banks and credit unions have gotten on board by providing a host of online banking services to their customers. Surprisingly, some account holders aren’t yet using any of the online services offered by their banks. This might be out of concerns for online security, feeling overwhelmed by having yet another account to manage, or perhaps not fully appreciating all that Internet banking has to offer. Here's some banking advice on the basic steps if...

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In many respects we’re now more connected to our bank and checking accounts than ever before, even though we’re doing less and less of our banking in person at the local branch. With online banking we can perform many basic banking tasks from home, regardless of the time of day or day of the week. Banks and credit unions continue working to give us additional ways of connecting with our accounts. In addition to online banking, banking alerts are on their way to becoming a standard way of doing business. Here’s some advice on some of the most common types...

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The digital age has already revolutionized the way that some businesses interact with their customers. Digital books and music have already disrupted the old way of doing business in those industries, and now we’re seeing some major changes in the world of personal banking. For example, instead of having to visit the bank to deposit a check into your account, or even visit an ATM to deposit it, you can now deposit the funds simply by using an application on your smart phone. Your bank needs to support the service, of course, but an increasing number are doing so. If your...

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Today’s world of personal banking has moved far beyond the days of having to speak with a teller during normal business hours just to conduct routine business. Technology continuously evolves, and banks continue to make use of those technological advancements by providing new services to their customers. Of course, the availability of different banking technologies doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily things you should be using. The best new banking technologies are the ones that help you do your banking business more efficiently and effectively, and which make it easier for you to keep your accounts safe. Here are four new banking...

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With interest rates for savers so universally low, banks are having to find non-financial ways to compete for new customers. As you might expect, one of the ways that banks and credit unions are competing is by offering powerful and convenient new services to their customers. One of the most popular types of services is mobile banking; being able to conduct electronic banking transactions away from your bank, when you’re not at your desktop or laptop computer. As banks continue to expand the range of services that they offer to their customers, the mobile and remote access services continue expanding...

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Taking responsibility for our own financial health involves a lot of deliberate action on our parts. We actively monitor and research our investments, budget for our income and expenses, and try to avoid making decisions that would negatively impact our overall wealth. But another aspect of keeping your financial situation healthy is to be on guard against those who would seek to do you harm. We’re talking about dangerous financial scams here. One thing that makes these scams so dangerous is that it’s not always so obvious that they’re scams. Here is some advice on three of the most prevalent financial...

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You’ll face many challenges and threats to your financial security virtually every day. Sometimes these threats are fairly straightforward and easy to guard against. Keep your checkbook and debit card protected at all times, choose strong and hard to guess passwords, memorize those passwords and don’t write them down anywhere. But thieves are now using more sophisticated techniques to try to separate you from your money. Many of the new theft methods are known as “phishing” techniques. Phishing scams usually come in the form of emails which appear to come from a real company you do business with – usually...

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