Have you been slow to hop on the bandwagon for mobile banking? You need to get on it. Mobile banking apps come with incredible benefits that you don’t want to miss out on. These are three of them:
Table of Contents
1. Convenience
Banking apps are convenient. You can do the majority of your banking without having to step foot in a bank. You can do everything on your smartphone while you’re sitting on your living room couch and then go back to binge-watching your favorite TV series.
Mobile Check Deposit
A perfect example of the convenience that banking apps can offer is a feature called mobile check deposit. If you happen to have a paper check, the mobile check deposit feature allows you to take a picture of the check and deposit it into your account through your app. This option is quick, easy and safe. There’s less of a risk of losing your check and having to call the bank for a stop payment.
2. Increased Security
Speaking of safety, mobile banking apps offer specialized security tools that can keep the contents of your account safe from strangers.
Mobile Banking Alerts
One security tool that you can set up is a mobile banking alert. Mobile banking alerts can notify you if there is any strange activity going on with your account, like a larger-than-normal ATM withdrawal. These alerts will direct your attention to your bank account right away. If you happen to be the one who has triggered the alert, you can dismiss it and go about your day as usual.
If you didn’t trigger the alert, you’ll know that something is wrong. You might be the victim of hacking or identity theft. In this case, you can contact the bank and the proper authorities immediately. They should help you address the issue right away.
Without the alert, acts of fraud could have continued right under your nose for days, weeks or longer. A mobile alert can help you catch a crime quickly!
Card Locking
Another security tool that your mobile banking app might offer is a card-locking feature. If you happen to lose track of your bank card — or worse, it gets stolen — you can go right into your app and “lock” the card. This will stop a thief from using the card to make unauthorized transactions, saving you from losing any money. Then you can contact the bank about the problem and try to get a replacement card.
3. Help with Savings
Do you have an emergency fund that is sitting empty? That’s not a great idea.
Without an emergency fund, you might not be able to afford an urgent, unplanned expense. You might have to turn to a different solution, like a personal loan. You don’t have to go to your bank to apply for that loan — you can save time and borrow online without having to step through your front door. With an approved online loan, you can cover your urgent expense in a short amount of time. Then, all you have to do is follow a simple repayment plan.
You won’t have to borrow or repay anything when you have an emergency fund. If you’re not sure how to fill it up, your mobile banking app might have features that help you gain savings.
Round-Up Feature
Some mobile banking apps offer round-up features for users. With this feature, transactions made in a checking account are rounded up to the nearest dollar. The “change” is moved into a linked savings account. So, every time that you make a transaction with your checking account, a little bit of money will automatically move into your savings account. This can help you slowly boost your emergency fund without even thinking about it.
Do you like the sound of these benefits? Then, it might be time to get a mobile banking app onto your smartphone.