Debt Free Article

Online Banking (part 2)

 Continued from...

Shipping your money inside a steel safe

Computer hackers are everywhere, and that is why online security is the number one concern for consumers in banking online. Banks take online security very, very seriously, especially when even the slightest flaw could severely damage customer confidence. Bank of America, for one fine example, explains all the security problems that occur on the Internet and countermeasures that are taken, to it customers.

Even so, security, of course is always at the fore front and a major concern in the minds of all online baking customers (just as the actual branch safety should be when you are inside any back location). When you are sending credit card numbers, passwords, electronic cash and personal information over the Internet, it makes you wonder if this information can be intercepted by others.

The truth of the matter is that you have a better chance of getting your financial identity stolen by what is contained in your rubbish on the curb outside your house than you do on the Net. You have a bigger change of being involved (as a victim) in a robbery at your bank branch than you do online.

Banks and solution providers are sticking up firewalls, encryption, pin codes and passwords against hackers. Like a fortress preparing for war really. Be sure to change your password on a regular basis too.

Typical online banking services available are protected with a PIN number, meaning a personal identification code of your choosing, that will verify and confirm each banking transaction that you perform.

You should look for a bank that features key encryption measures (most banks due – there is a lot at stake here), meaning security codes, they have implemented so that only you and your bank see your account info.

Here is an example: AOL, an online service, its Banking Center features a product called BankNOW that is used along with many different partners of AOL to transfer funds between accounts, get balances, and pay bills. This BankNOW software, made by Intuit, the same people who make Quicken, uses a 128 bit encryption method and stares that it is virtually impossible for anyone using current technology to steal info. Quite honestly, by the time you read this article on this debt free site – at least a handful of updates have been made to it to keep ahead of hackers. Restrictions do apply, as the 128 bit standard is so powerful that the US government has made its sale overseas illegal. Federal regulations only permit US and Canadian customers top download the software.

If you are thinking of banking online, here is a list of questions you should ask the customer service rep at your bank branch or on the phone first:

• Does your bank offer, or plan to provide, its own online banking service, either through their own website or a software application with online access to its central computers? You will want to find out all the charges and fees involved and what transactions you can and cannot do online.
• How long does it take for each transaction to be extracted? Does the funds transfer take place immediately? If you pay your mortgage on a Monday, when will the payment be debited from your account and credited to the recipient?

Here is why: Let’s say you pay your mortgage over the Internet on Tuesday, However, once your financial institution’s processing department gets your electronic request, many financial institutions may still have to print out a check and mail the payment to the electronic company. The result you ask? Your electronic bill payment might not get paid until several business days. You have to find out the details from your financial institution. Some banks debit your account the day the check clears.

• What type of security does your bank provide with its online banking services? Usually, the types of encryption used in online banking allow only you and the bank to see your account info. Ask your banker to tell you about the specifics here.
• What happens if an error occurs? Sure, online banking may have been around a long time now, but mistakes can happen. What can you do if there is a technical glitch resulting in a duplicated transaction? Ask your banker what happens in these cases. Whether it is your error or not. If you inadvertently duplicate a transaction or send money to the wrong creditor, you need to know what to do next or what will be happening next. It is almost certain that once you send an online bill payment, it is not reversible – but find out what happens if you send the money to a wrong account and so forth. What is the bank fees involved should you make a bad error?
• What is the process to close an online bank account and what type of charges are involved in doing so.> It may be easy to open and set up – but how easy is it to close? Your banker should have all the specific answers you need regarding this. If not – find someone at your bank that does.

If you sign up with one of the banks on an online service or the Internet, be absolutely sure you are in complete understanding of each and every aspect of this banking ahead of time.

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