The most undervalued features of online banking

The most basic feature of online banking is that it allows the customer to view a wide range of financial information just by logging into a secure site from their computer. This enables the customer to view their statements and balances and review any recent transactions. This is useful in itself, but it also provides some other valuable benefits to the customer. Most banks provide a facility to view cheques that have been presented against the account, which makes it easy to confirm who a particular cheque was issued to, which would not be apparent from a printed statement, and also helps to reduce fraud.

The facility to view financial information online allows a customer to stop receiving printed statements from the bank. This enhances security and can also be very useful for someone who moves around frequently, as it reduces the amount of post to be redirected, while allowing the customer to have up to date statements.

The next level of features enabled by the use of online banking relate to financial transactions. The customer can transfer funds from one account to another, and make transfers to third parties, for instance to pay bills. Many banks now incorporate advanced features that can enhance these transactions. For instance, merchants can send an electronic bill to the bank, rather than to the customer, and the online banking facility can be set up so as to pay the bill automatically, or else to notify the customer about the bill, and seek approval and authorization for payment. This can greatly assist the customer with managing all their bills and cutting down on the amount of paperwork that they have to deal with.

Once a customer has set up an online banking facility, it is then a simple matter to apply for additional accounts and facilities from the same bank while logged into the account. The customer can then add these accounts to the online banking facility. This can apply to savings accounts, credit cards and loans. The customer can then transfer money quickly and easily between these accounts, for instance so as to keep the bulk of their money in the account that earns the best interest rate, while ensuring that sufficient funds are maintained in their current account to pay bills as they fall due.

One of the most undervalued features of online banking is the facility to integrate with personal financial management software on the customer's own computer. Information can be imported from the online banking system into the computer software, enabling the customer to analyse and manage their personal finances.

For the business user, there are some extremely useful additional features available from online business banking facilities, that many companies are unaware of or else do not use to full effect. The business banking information available online can be integrated with the customer relationship management software that the company is using, to increase the efficiency of managing vendor payments. Calculation and payment of taxes can also be aided by the use of online banking. Finally, the company can administer the payment of wages electronically to their employees. This can be done by uploading a single file containing all payments, avoiding the need to issue cheques or make payments individually to each employee.

There are so many useful facilities with online banking, and all customers would benefit from ensuring that they are getting the maximum benefit from the features that are available to them.