Online Checking Accounts

Search results for 'online checking accounts'

Why You Should Be Using Online Banking

by vette09 on 18. Feb, 2011 in Uncategorized

These days, almost every bank offers some form of online banking solution for its customers, with some banks (like ING DIRECT USA, who I use) being completely online. With so many different options available, anyone can do most of their banking on the web. Almost every individual or entity can benefit from using an online bank.

Convenience is touted as the main benefit of using online banks, but it’s far from the only one. There are numerous reasons to use online banking, from saving money to being more environmentally friendly. Below are 9 factors to consider when deciding to use traditional or online bank accounts.

Convenience – By accessing your bank account online, you can manage your banking activities whenever you want. Onlinebanking can be accessed 24/7/365, so you will be no longer be tied to the branch’s hours. On top of that, you don’t have to take the time to travel to the branch and deal the inevitable lines, thus giving you much more time to deal with more important matters.
Mobility – Online banking can usually be managed from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. Even if you’re away for work or on a vacation, you can take care of your banking needs. Some banks, like Bank of America, have even developed mobile applications that make banking a lot easier for those having a Smartphone like the Apple iPhone or iTouch or a Blackberry. With this added mobility, you’ll no longer have to worry about time sensitive banking activities.
No Fees – Because an internet bank does not have to worry about dealing with the overhead of a brick and mortar location, many times fees are lower and are often non-existent. Those savings and checking accounts offered by completely online banks (like ING DIRECT USA) generally have no fees at all. Depending on the fees associated with your current bank, you could possibly save a substantial amount of money.
Higher Interest Rates – Once again, due to a lack of overhead, online banks frequently offer higher interest rates than traditional banks.
Online Statements – Most internet banks try and be as paper-free as possible. Most statements and correspondence is carried out on the internet, which reduces the amount of paper sent through the mail. Not only does this further reduce operating overhead, it also has a positive environment impact. Rather than generating tons of paper, online bank account users can just save their monthly statements to a disc or download them only as needed.
Direct Deposit – Most online banks encourage, if not require, direct deposit of your salary. While direct deposit can be uncomfortable at first for some people, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Not only do you save the time and effort of going to the bank but you also get access to your money faster. Depending on your employer and bank, you may get access to your income as early as midnight the night before your payday.
Automatic Bill Pay – Automatic bill paying allows you to automate paying your monthly bills. Not surprisingly, you have to set this up manually – which can take some time, however it will be worth it in the long run. It not only ensures that you’re never late on a payment, but it also lets you hold on to your money longer in many cases. It also saves you money on postage and reduces the environmental impact that sending things through traditional mail makes.
Real Time Account Info – Since you’ll be able to access your accounts anytime, you can get up-to-the-minute information on your accounts. This may enable you to better manage your income and gain the most from various accounts, interest rates and services offered by the bank.
Transfers – Online transfers between accounts within the same bank are often accomplished virtually instantaneously. Even transferring to other financial institutions is less difficult, and safer as you don’t have to send checks through the mail or carry cash with you.

Hopefully the 9 benefits above will help you realize just how great online banking can be. As I mentioned in the article, I highly recommend ING DIRECT USA. I have had an account with them for years and they are amazingly easy to work with and very responsive to questions and issues that arise. Check them out!

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

by vette09 on 11. Oct, 2010 in

I haven’t set foot inside a bank or written a paper check in over 6 years. This may sound amazing to some people but it’s the way I like it and it’s one of the main advantages of having an online checking account.

I’ve been a Personal Finance Coach for almost 5 years now and I advise all of my clients to do as much of their banking online as they can. As you can probably imagine, making the transition from real time to digital can be an adjustment for some so to show them the benefits of having an online checking account I made the following list. I hope you find it useful and maybe after reading it you’ll know whether or not having an online checking account is for you.

Advantages of having an Online Checking Account:

Online Checking Accounts are a money and time saver. With paper checks the typical payment sequence goes somthing like this: sit at desk -> gather bills, checkbook, pen, register, stamps, envelopes -> write check -> write check amount in register -> stuff it in envelope -> seal envelope -> add stamp -> (repeat above for all bills) -> take envelopes to post office -> hope payments arrive on time and don’t get lost in the mail -> next month compare register to bank statement to see what has been cashed and what hasn’t.

With online checking accounts the process goes like this: turn on computer -> go to bank website -> enter payment amount, address and date to send -> push submit. It’s even shorter if you pay the same amount each month because you can schedule recurring payments for monthly bills that will be paid automatically.

Online Checking Accounts offer protection. If you’ve ever had a payment lost or delayed in the mail you know that the penalties can be steep. With an online checking account you can prove when and how the payment was sent and whether or not it was cashed. This ability has helped me to avoid more than one late payment in my time because I can prove that the amount was sent on time.

Online Checking Accounts are convenient. Rather than carrying around a paper checkbook you can use your debit card for purchases. These purchases will be deducted almost immediately from your account so you never have to wonder about outstanding payments that haven’t cleared.

Online Checking Accounts are safer. It’s become pretty easy these days for people to intercept a paper check, clean it (remove the ink – except for your signature) and then write themselves a big, fat check from your bank account. Yes, this can happen with your debit card but you have protection with a debit card that you don’t have with paper checks.

Online Checking Accounts are almost immediate. If you’re paying all of your bills via online checks and your debit cars your account will almost always be showing a balance that is up to the minute. No more wondering about random checks that might show up months later.

Online Checking Accounts offer incentives. Many, but not all, banks are really striving to go paperless these days. As a result, some are offering incentives for people who switch to online banking. This could include a cash incentive, higher interest rate or something else but something is better than nothing.

Disadvantages of having an Online Checking Account:

No face-to face-interaction. Unless you choose a local bank for your online checking account it is unlikely that you’ll get any face-to-face interaction with the bank employees. You’ll most likely be doing any contact via phone or email. If you’re one who likes to go in and talk to your teller it would be better to choose a local bank (most offer online checking these days).

Online Checking Accounts rely on technology. If you’re in an area where internet connections can be difficult or you are a technophobe then you may not want an online checking account because you will have to deal with technology. If it makes you feel any better though, my 59 year old mom who barely knows what Google is has switched all of her accounts to online and she loves it.

You don’t get the float. With paper checks you can usually rely on 2-3 days of float between the time a payment is mailed and the time it’s cleared (it used to be longer but those days are gone). This can help if money is tight. With an online checking account that is gone. When a payment is sent it’s debited from your account immediately. This can help with budgeting but if you need that float it may be a problem.

So there you go, those are some advantages and disadvantages of online checking accounts. It’s a personal decision but everyone I know who has gone online has never looked back.

Best Online Checking Account

One of the best online checking accounts is offered by ING Direct. It’s called Electric Orange and is one of the best programs out there. It helps that it’s connected to the Orange Savings Account which is, by far, the best savings account to have. The advantages of the Electric Orange account are:

It’s an interest bearing account so you earn interest on the money you have sitting in your checking account.
Free online bill pay so you don’t have to waste time writing paper checks (they’ll even pay the postage for bills that don’t accept electronic transfers).
Free Master Card Debit Card included
Free ATM access at over 35,000 ATMs world wide.
P2P payments meaning you can skip using paypal when you need to send your friends money.

The main disadvantage of the Electric Orange account is that they don’t give you paper checks. So, if you write paper checks a lot, they won’t work well for you. If you need paper checks or need to be able to walk into a bank, I’d check out WaMu. They seem to be the lesser of the evil big box banks.

Good luck with deciding how you want to handle your financial matters!

Incoming search terms for the article:

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Online Checking Account Benefits

Why You Should Be Using Online Banking