Anyone Can Benefit From Online Banking Services, Even You!

Folks who haven’t tried banking online probably don’t realize how fast, easy and hassle-free the process can be. Rather than having to deal with collecting a month’s worth of bills, finding envelops and stamps and lastly tracking down a pen (or even a crayon), online banking simplify the entire process.

But, who can benefit from these services? And, are they really easier than old fashion, paper and pen checking for bill payments, balancing accounts and so on?

Online banking is ideal for almost anyone who uses banks. The fact of the matter is banking online is a lot quicker than regular banking and the perks they offer can be quite impressive. Online services are ideal for:

* Personal and joint account owners. In this time of many living from paycheck to paycheck, online banking makes it much easier for people to keep up with money coming in and going out. This is especially important for those who have more than one person drawing for an account. Since these services are update daily, it’s easier for all account owners to keep up with the bottom line.
* Anyone who receives direct payments from their place of employment. The check deposit receipts might show up on Fridays, but every so often, paychecks don’t get credited as they should. Online banking makes it quick and easy to confirm if regular paychecks have been automatically deposited as they should be.
* Businesses. Banking online is ideal for businesses for the above reasons and many more. Especially in businesses where finances change hands quickly, online banking services with their fast updates make it simple for businesses to keep up with every penny. This can be great, too, to ensure that credits have been credited and accounts balance out as they should.
* Retirees. Online banking services are great for retirees who receive income from several direct payment sources. It’s much quicker to make sure accounts are as they should be online than it is to go into the bank or wait for a monthly statement.

Now that you know that these services are great for just about anyone, let’s talk about some of the services that are available.

* Statements. Anyone worth its salt offers online statements that update as transactions happen. Basically a running tally of what’s happening with an account, these are great to help people keep track of their finances in a more diligent manner.
* Transfer services. Many provide online transfers of money from one account to another. This beats running to a bank and can be done virtually any time of day or night.
* Loan applications. Since most banking institutions also offer loans, those with online banking service privileges tend to have quick access to loan vehicles, as well.
* Automatic bill payments. Many online banking services provide customers with mechanisms to pay recurring bills directly from their accounts.

Online banking services are continually evolving, and as the services expand, they only get better for customers. Whether you only have a small bank account or you’re at the helm of a multi-million dollar business, online banking services can help make banking a snap.

For more information about online banking, visit:

http://www.onlinebankinglink.com

Chip N Pin Good or Bad

More and more we are becoming a cashless society. Almost every purchase we make now days is on the card whether that is a credit card or a debit card. To try to limit credit and debit card fraud, the powers that be introduced Chip n pin so that you no longer sign for your purchase, you just enter your secret pin number and away you go. Best keep it safe from prying eyes though there are both advantages and disadvantages to the use of Chip n pin and this article will explore some of them.

Advantages

The chip n pin prevents anyone from copying your signature. Before chip n pin, if you went into a restaurant, your card was often taken away from you and details entered out of your sight only to be returned for a signature. This did result in a number of frauds perpetrated on customers who paid their bill in this way. With the arrival of chip n pin, the card remains with the customer and there is no signature needed. It also makes it harder for a thief to use your card unless they have your personal pin number. Certainly, both credit and debit card fraud has been reduced since the introduction of chip and pin.

Disadvantages

While credit and debit card fraud has gone down with chip and pin, at the same time, cashpoint fraud has gone up. They use hidden cameras sometimes so that they can see which keys are pressed for the pin. They sometimes place an invisible strip where the card is entered and commit fraud that way. The advent of chip and pin has also generated a rise in phishing, this is where fraudsters get hold of your email address and send out emails claiming to be from a bank and asking for you to click and check your account details. Once a person clicks on the link, they are redirected to a fraudulent site, If they then give out their account details, they are in danger of having their bank account raided.

Conclusion

In some respects, the introduction of chip and pin does make life a bit less complicated and certain forms of credit and debit card fraud have decreased. On the other hand, this has encouraged fraudsters to become ever more creative in designing ways to illegally access other people’s money. While we are constantly warned about keeping our details secret and safely disposing of letters from the bank and credit card statements, people are still being defrauded of their money. These days, if you don’t have a bank account, a lot of doors are no longer open to you buying over the internet or having a mobile phone contract, for example. Chip and pin may not be a hundred percent secure, but if we take precautions in other areas, our money is probably safer than it was before the introduction of this way of using your cards.

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The Check Clearance Process from a Business Perspective

Business checks are written everyday at almost every place of business. At age 18, anyone with the adequate amount of money can open a checking account of his or her own.

One aspect of checking account functions that many account owners are not familiar with the processing of their checks after they have been written. When shopping, the customer many times thinks to his or herself whether he or she should pay cash, charge it, or pay for the purchase with a check. He or she may ponder this question in their mind all the way to the check out counter.

When the customer makes the decision to pay for the merchandise with a check, a long process is started. This process begins when the check is handed over to the cashier. Once all information has been properly placed on the check the cashier then will normally ask for two things, a home phone number and a driver’s license number.

Once all of the necessary information has been placed on the check by both the cashier and the customer the check is scanned in the automatic check reader. This check reader recognizes the customers account number, A.B.A. number (or routing number), as well as the check number.

The computer system can then recognize the specific account and check to make sure that there are no returned checks on that account. Once the check is approved, it is then printed or endorsed on the back with all proper information for deposits, including the amount of the purchase, cash back received (if applicable), store location number, date, time, cashier number, and the customer’s account number.

The cashier then stores the check in a locked box until it is time for them to go home. All checks are then added together to make sure none are missing and to make sure the cashier put all checks in for the correct amount. All checks received in the office at the end of the day are totaled together and deposited into the bank account.

When the person responsible goes to the bank and makes the deposit for the business, he or she hands a large number of checks to the bank teller. The teller will then verify the amount of the deposit to the total amount of the checks.

After the deposit has been verified and all numbers are correct, the teller will then run the checks through the proof machine to be verified again. The proof machine also encodes the amount on the bottom right hand corner of the check. When all of the work has been ran through the proof machine it is then sorted by an automatic sorter that sorts the checks by their routing numbers.

After the checks have been sorted they are sent to the bank that they have been drawn on. Once the checks arrive at the banks they are drawn on, they are then sorted by their account numbers. As these checks are being sorted they are posted to the account automatically. The checks then, in account number order are placed in a safe filing area so they will not be lost until the bank statements are sent to the account owners.

The check or a copy of the check is then sent to the account owner in the mail with his or her statement. In the case that a copy of the check is sent to the owner the check is kept in a safe place until it can be properly destroyed.

This is only one example of the way a check is cleared through a certain business. Although, the basic concept of check clearing is the same, each individual company may go through its own processing procedure before depositing the check to the bank. Most banks handle their business checks in approximately the same manner.

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How to Safely Use The Online/Internet Banking And Also Protect Yourself Against Tricksters?

53 million internet users or 44% of the internet community use internet or online banking for processing their own transaction. There is a staggering 47% increase in online users as compared to the total number of American online user according to online banking report 2005.

Two very significant factors play a very important role in explaining this unprecedented increase in the use of online banking services:-

1)There is the availability of internet itself. With broadband in most homes, more and more people are using the internet and are therefore more comfortable with it. The initial fear of this technology is being replaced with the positive benefits that internet brings to everyone.

Research suggests that the 28 to 39 year old age group are more likely to use the online banking service. This makes sense because this sector of the market is made up of high earners. It is no co-incidence that this age group; by virtue of their familiarity with this technology, use the internet and online banking so that they can make better use of their time.

2)Online or internet banking offers the flexibility and the ease with which one can conduct ones financial affairs online. Imagine the scenario, you are on a train from Inverness in Scotland to London and you have 6 hours before you board a plane to Atlanta.

There is an argument for you to connect your laptop to the internet via your data card on your phone to sort things out before reaching the airport. I have heard of people working frantically to finish things off because they are leaving to go on holiday or going on business.

There is no need to rush around because the internet is here and that means you can log into your online banking account from any where in the world and do the business. Your password is your access to your own online account and the rest is just a couple of clicks away.

If I can pay all my bills online, transfer money between my other accounts and increase my monthly mortgage instalment this month because of windfall, where is the downside?

There are security and safe transactions issues associated with internet banking such as:-

1)People steeling your identity by hacking into your account and then spending your money. This problem is not as wide spread as media would suggest.

2)You giving your account information to unscrupulous online tricksters. You can fall prey to e-mail scams asking you to update your information because of some security issues. Such e-mails can persuade you to pass your sensitive account details for fraudsters to copy, sell and distribute to criminals across the world.

3)If you keep your account/password information in your wallet then in the event of your wallet being stolen or lost your secure data can end up finding itself in the hands of criminals..

Finally, the benefits of online banking out way the disadvantages of this service. You can minimise the risk of fraud by implementing your own security. Simple measures to keep your account information to yourself like memorising your password and not replying to e-mails asking for your information to be updated will go a long way to protect you against online fraud. If hackers hack into the banks security system and steel all your money then the bank’s own insurance will make your loss good. So there is no issue there for you to be concerned about.

Online banking is here to stay. Some 44% of the internet community is using the internet for their banking needs. For more info. visit http://www.onlinebankingnet.com and try it!.

8 Golden Rules For Safe And Secure Online Banking

1)Good security software which must be updated regularly.

Make your computer secure by installing good security devices. Ensure that your computer security software is set up to update security enhancements as and when they become available. This is very important because security patches are released primarily to fix a security issue or weakness. Installing the patch as soon as it becomes available will help you protect your online banking account information from thieves.

2)Anti-virus software to be installed.

Installing anti-virus software will offer some protection against prying eyes into your online banking business. There are a lot of these anti-virus software packages on the market names such as Mcafee and Norton are well known. Some anti-virus software advisers will even refer to “FREE” anti-virus software packages for the task of providing security. This is a false economy. People in some quarters advocate AVG but a paid version as opposed to a sponsored one.

3)Personal fire wall.

Personal fire wall is a gate which you can use to choose your visitors from entering your machine as well as leaving it. Personal fire wall prevents and stops unauthorised traffic from and to your machine. The suggested products to provide an extra layer of security to your online banking needs are Zone lab’s famous Zone Alarm Pro fro example. The negative side effect of Zone Alarm is that it causes problems when you run certain software. In those circumstances, you are required to disable this security function before continuing to run your software. But Zone Alarm does have world wide recognition and use.

4)Password, its choice and its security.

Your password is your access to you’re your online banking account. Never use a password which is easily recognisable. For example, if your first name is “Trish” then it is advisable for you not to use your first name as your password on your account.

5)Don’t use same password for several accounts.

Never use the same password for several accounts. This practice may not look bad on the surface but it increases the risk of password information falling into the wrong hands. For example, your online banking password could be $12wed8 or something similar.

6)Record of your password.

Never write your password down. There are several arguments both for and against this statement. Yes, there should be a record of your account details which must be kept in a safe somewhere. However, having your password information in your wallet is not advised because you could possibly lose your wallet or it may be stolen.

7)Sending password information to others online.

Never give your password details to anyone online for example. Information which is passed to others over the internet remains on the internet for ever. Some one somewhere will have a copy of your previously sent information and that fact makes your password information unsecure and less safe.

8)Have anti-spyware software installed on your machine.

Spyware programs end up on your hard drive via down load. An innocent request for information about a product can result in a spyware program sitting on your hard drive. Their function is to monitor computer usage activity and then communicate that information to its owner. In a nutshell, it collects marketing information.

However, it can also be used to collect sensitive and secure information. Information like your password and account information in relation to an online banking transaction. Therefore, having a anti-spy program will protect your against third party collecting information about your online banking activities.

Finally, online banking is growing at a very fast rate so much so that all the high street banks are offering online banking to its customers. There are big advantages for the banks because the transactions and therefore the work is done by the customers themselves and customers can access their online bank account 24/7. It is a win-win situation for all parties.

For better online banking, follow these 8 golden rules to make for safer and secure environment. For more information visit http://www.onlinebankingnet.com and do your online banking transactions with confidence.