Have you made the switch to online banking yet? I made the switch myself several years ago and I gotta tell you, I love it. There are many benefits to handling your bank account online, many of which your traditional banker won’t admit.
Let’s face it: dollars are dollars and whether you use them through a bank having a brick and mortar presence or use them through a bank entirely online, dollars are still dollars. What’s funny (or maybe it’s not so funny) is that traditional banks offer many of the same online resources as online banks, yet their fee structure remains constant.
What is YOUR traditional banker not telling you?
Online banks are cheaper to use
My experience has been that online banking is far less expensive than traditional grounded banks. My PerkStreet checking account is free to use plus I get tons of rewards and cash back! Their fee structure for everything from stop payments to NSF’s are substantially less expensive than my traditional bank.
Online banks may have better loan rates
That’s been my experience. Whether you’re looking for a mortgage or wanting to finance an automobile, there’s a very good chance an online bank can get you a better loan rate.
Online banks have far fewer expenses
By not wasting money on fancy marbled foyers and lobbies, multiple branches, or personnel (tellers, branch employees, security guards), online banks are able to drastically reduce their expenses and funnel those savings to their customers in the form of lower fees.
Online banks pay you more interest
An online savings account through ING Direct pays me substantially more interest than my traditional bank ever did. It’s ridiculous actually. Plus, ING offers referral bonuses to those opening a new savings account as well as to the referrer. If you’d like a referral link, send me a note via my contact page (first come, first served).
If you’re interested in earning interest on your checking, check out Electric Orange from ING DIRECT or PerkStreet Financial.
Online banks are just as easy to use, if not more so
My experience with an online bank account may not be typical, but I haven’t found anyone who disagrees with my assertion that online banks are extremely easy to use. I use mine to automate my bill payments, pay other bills, check my balance, and transfer funds between accounts.
Online banks refund most ATM fees
Most online banks refund ATM fees, especially if you use an ATM within one of their national networks. Other online banks refund every ATM fee. It makes things so much easier to know cash is just ANY ATM away.
Online banks are just as safe as traditional banks
Maybe even more so. Why? Customers using online banks tend to check their accounts several times each day and discover identity theft, fraud, or any other problem much more quickly than people who wait on a paper statement once each month.
Since traditional banks use the same Internet resources as online banks, there isn’t really any difference in their security. Online banks are no more susceptible to fraud than traditional banks, so security isn’t an issue, just your personal sense of security.
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Online Banking is great. It really is useful so you can see where all your charges are coming from. Its also good to have in case you lose your debt card. You can control what happens with it. Online banking is just amazing.