WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN ONLINE BANK

Banks have always been an important part of our lives since the past 500 years. Everybody wants to have a fixed place where they can keep their money safe and secure. The idea was first conceived in Florence by Italian traders who wanted to keep their savings away from the hands of bandits and other unscrupulous people. This is exactly how modern banking started.

In current times, there has been a lot of increase in the use of technology that has been incorporated into banking services. This includes many features like banking apps and net banking. People find it very convenient and pleasurable to use these services in the convenience of their homes and offices or even while on the move.

Given this scenario, it has become inevitable that banks have evolved and this is exactly what has happened. Contemporary demands have led to the rise of new kinds of banks called as online banks.

WHAT IS AN ONLINE BANK?

Put very simply, an online bank is a virtual bank that does not have any physical existence and is only available online on the Internet. An online bank does not have to pay overhead costs for its functioning and in this way a lot of money is saved which enables it to pass on some of these benefits to its customers. This has led to its immense popularity now and this will definitely hold true in the near future.

HOW ONLINE BANKING HAS REVOLUTIONIZED BANKING SERVICES

Thus, it is evident that online baking has revolutionized banking services with the help of modern technology like the Internet. Here we discuss the things that you should look for in an online bank so that you can get the maximum benefits and facilities. So let now proceed with knowing these features that will help you select the best bank in the easiest way.

1.    SOUND FINANCES

The capital reserves of a bank are the most important factor when comes to choosing a bank. This is because they reflect the financial soundness of a bank and need to be given the utmost importance. Generally, banks with 5-star ratings have the best capital reserves while banks with 1-star rating need to be avoided as much as possible.

While there are many safeguard measures in place that will help you get your money back in the case of a problem, why bother going through these hassles and leave your money at the mercy of fate? Hence, when choosing an online bank, you need to select a bank that has the best sound finances. You can check out the list of online banks here. This will help you immensely in making a comparison between them.

2.    THE LOWEST POSSIBLE FEES

The main reason why people have moved away from traditional banks is that they charge high fees for each and every service. They include fees like monthly fees, service fees, ATM fees and the like.

Online banks have to compete with traditional banks and hence, they will try their best to reduce their fees to a bare minimum. While it may be virtually impossible for them to offer their services for free, it will still hold you in good stead as it can save you a lot of money in the long-run.  In this way, online banks are beneficial for you as they charge you the lowest possible fees.

3.    THE HIGHEST ONLINE SAVINGS

When you are choosing the best bank, you need to choose the online bank that provides you with the highest interest rate for your money. First, you need to see that the bank is an FDIC registered one. Then you can use a variety of apps like NerdWallet and BankRate that can help you with this task. Just ensure that they charge no fees and that you are comfortable with their account balance size. Also, visit their website and see if it functions well. If it doesn’t, then you need to visit some other online bank.

4.    EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER’S SUPPORT

Excellent customer support can help you get out of trouble within a lesser time duration. But for this, the customer service of the bank has to be impeccable. While most modern banks claim to offer round the clock customer service, this doesn’t make it flawless in any way. Hence, for further research, you can refer to websites like Consumerist.com that can help you get the best reviews on the customer services offered by online banks.

5.    OPERATING DURATION

It is very important that you find out the operating duration of the online bank that you wish to choose for yourself. In other words, this is the years of operation of the online bank that you are researching. Some banks are in business for a long time while others are just fly-by-night banks that are out to make you part with your money at their insistence. Hence, you need to be careful of the same and protect yourself from them so that your money stays in the right hands.

6.    REPLACING TRADITIONAL BANKS

If you want to replace your traditional bank with an online one, then you need to compare all the facilities of the new bank with the old one. Check out all the features that were present in your previous bank and see if there are new features added to your kitty. If all the criteria are fulfilled, then you can consider going completely over to the online bank. If not, then you can think about using the online bank just as a place to keep your savings.

7.    STRONG SECURITY LEVELS

Security plays a very important role in every part of our lives and online banks are no exception. This is even more so in the case of online banking as it is a question of your money. Hence, you must always ensure that you have strong security levels in the online bank that you choose.

8.    RATES OF INTEREST

When you choose a particular online bank, you need to first check out the rates of interest. Always choose one that provides you with higher rates of interest. Then you can consider switching over to it from your current bank. Another thing that you need to look for is that the other services should not be reduced for giving you higher interest. This will ensure that you get the best deal.

THE FUTURE OF BANKING

This clearly shows that online banks are the future of banking. Hence, it is high time that we embrace it for a brighter tomorrow.

CONCLUSION

Thus, we have explained the factors that you need to look for in a new bank. In this way, you can get the most useful and effective online bank for taking care of your finances.

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This article was written by Gary Wilson.