Online Banks- Are They Really Safe?

Online banking has been around a few years now, and most people are fairly confident and able to at least log into their account from home to check the balance. But what about you? What about the pre-computer generation that is still hesitant to give it a try? Online banking can provide a new world of convenience, allowing you to do much more than checking balances. You can transfer funds between accounts within an institution or even to another institution, like ING Direct for example.

Online banking is safe, but you want to ensure your bank meets a few basic criteria. First, check to see if your bank is FDIC insured. This means your total deposits among all your accounts combined at a single institution is insured to $100,000. You can check to see if your bank is insured by clicking this link: http://www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp. Next, you want to review your banks privacy policy. Starting July 2001, banks are required to give you a copy of their privacy policy once you become their customer, regardless of whether you are conducting business online or offline. If they do share your information with other partner and/or third party companies, the bank should have clear directions how to opt out of sharing this information.

Third, check your banks website for security measures. You should see a locked padlock symbol in the lower right hand corner of your internet browser. Your bank should also have a PIN or personal identification number that is not usually the same number you use to access an ATM machine. You also want to make sure your computers antivirus software is up to date and you run a spy-ware checker like Spybot Search and Destroy which is free. Another freeware choice is Ad-aware. I run both, then make sure my auto-protect on my antivirus software is enabled.

Lastly, remember that links on your banks website to other outside websites are not FDIC insured. If you are unsure, you can always check using the link I mentioned earlier in this post.
Online Banking is not as complicated as it sounds. Actually quite the opposite is true. I have been using online banking exclusively for over four years and have no regrets. I sit down once a month, and set up all my bills to be paid on a date I specify (usually the date due unless it falls on a Sunday). This way, I have my money working longer for me, and I don’t need to get stamps, envelopes, or worry the bill will get re-shuffled into my pile of growing paperwork.
Go ahead, give it a try! Once you do, you will never look back.

Tim Haibach
PFDaily