Online banking has been around for years, but until recently was not trusted by the average internet user. Large banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Wachovia, Suntrust, City National and Washington Mutual all offer online banking. These banks used to charge fees to use online banking, but now they are all offered for free. Bill Pay is a useful service with most online banking sites, but many still charge for this service. The one major drawback to all online banking is the issue of online security. How secure are these sites? With so much spyware around these days, it's not that hard for a spyware program to track your keystrokes and potentially get your online banking login information and then access your account. If you choose to go the online banking route, make sure you have a good personal firewall and anti-virus program installed on your computer for security purposes.
Wells Fargo Online Banking:
Wells Fargo is one of the pioneers of the online banking industry. Their online services can help you stay on top of your finances. It's easy to check balances, view statements, transfer funds, pay bills, view paid checks, and much more with their latest online banking system. They offer free, secure, unlimited online access to your Wells Fargo checking, savings, credit card, loan, mortgage, and investment accounts. Bill Pay still has a fee associated with it, but these prices are coming down as competition moves into this arena. Hopefully in the near future, we can all do online bill pay for free (that would be a huge time saver for all of us).
Online banking with Bank of America:
Bank of America has always strived to be the best online banking bank, they recently developed a product called SiteKey which helps protect against fraud and identity theft. B of A has free online banking with unlimited Bill Pay as well. It has the usual services of checking account balances and transactions, transfer funds between accounts at Bank of America, and download your financial statements.
Washington Mutual Online Banking:
WAMU continues to lead the banking industry with their online banking offerings. Benefits include: Saving time, no more checks to write, envelopes to stuff, stamps to buy or paper to riffle through. Online banking puts your financial data in one place, where it's well-organized and accessible—so keeping track of information is easier than ever. You don't need to download any software or learn any new program, just login and pay bills, check account balances, see your statements, tranfer funds, and order checks.
Wachovia Online Banking:
Wachovia Online Banking with BillPay lets you do your banking quickly and securely anytime for free. View balances and up to 90 days of activity on your checking, savings, investment money market accounts, as well as installment loans, credit cards, CDs, and lines of credit. Transfer money between eligible accounts until 8pm ET for same day posting. Quickly and easily pay bills online. Re-order checks, stop payment on checks, and send secure messages to and from Wachovia customer service.
How Do I Get Online Banking??
Go to your banking institution in person and ask about their online banking options or better yet, do it online yourself. All major banks offer online banking and you can easily go online to setup an account with US Bank, Suntrust, Royal Bank, CIBC, Key Bank, Bank One, City National and all the other major banking institutions mentioned above.
Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.