Manage Your Everyday Finances: Online Banking

Online Banking Pros and Cons

If you've never looked into online banking you're in for a treat. Not only is it easy to set up and use, you'll find that its benefits include expense tracking, account monitoring, easy transfer of funds, and more. Still, it's a good idea to look at the pros and cons before taking the leap online.

Reasons to Like Online Banking -- the Pros

If you've ever had to run to the bank or post office to get a payment in on time, you'll love the online banking Bill Pay feature. You not only save time, you'll save on late fees and penalties by programming your bill payments to arrive before their due date. Do you hate dealing with paper bills? You can get many of your bills by email. You can also switch to paperless bank statements.

Not sure when your payment was sent? You can program the system to send you payment notification. Consider saving these emails in a folder in your email program. You can also receive alerts that tell you when your balance has dropped below a certain amount or has risen above a set figure, or even if you've overdrawn your account.

The days of "banker's hours" are over. You have 24/7 access allowing you to check balances or account activity, transfer funds, pay bills and manage investments, any time and from anywhere. Download your account activity into your financial software program where you can do in-depth analysis, tracking and report generation.

Consider These Before You Take the Leap -- the Cons

It takes time to get your accounts and payees set up and to learn how to navigate the system. You have to be more self-reliant about troubleshooting any problems you encounter, although many banks offer help by phone or online. And while financial institutions take great care to secure their sites, you'll have to do your part, too, by securing your computer from malware and spyware that could make you vulnerable to identity thieves.