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Over time, customers of banks and members of credit unions have found the benefits of online banking to be great, and financial institutions have responded by including features beyond the basics described here.
Many banks and credit unions allow you to set up email alerts that give you notice when certain account activity occurs. There are a variety of alerts, and different institutions will offer different ones, but the standard alerts include:
A warning when your balance drops below or rises above a certain amount that you designate. For example, if you want to know when you have less than $100 in your account, you can set up an alert and receive an email letting you know.
Confirmation from the bank or credit union when a large deposit or withdrawal occurs. Deposit alerts let you know when a large deposit (like a paycheck) you already deposited is credited to your balance, and withdrawal alerts let you know when a large amount is removed from your account, like when you write a rent check or buy dinner for all your friends. For both deposit and withdrawal accounts, you can set how large of a transaction will set off the alert. High withdrawal alerts also serve as a security measure, letting you know when any large withdrawal occurs -- even ones that you did not schedule.
Alerts you when your balance becomes negative, helping you avoid additional overdraft fees.
If you haven't scheduled your bill payments, or if you just want a reminder when an amount will be deducted from your account, reminders help you keep track of you balance. Confirmations let you know when a bill pay has successfully been made.
To avoid the security risk of sending sensitive information to your email, banks and credit unions often have an internal messaging system that allows you to ask a question about your account without leaving the financial institution's website. Secure message alerts email you when a customer service agent responds to your question. These alerts don't include the response itself, but let you know when to log back into online banking to read the response.
Nearly all banks and credit unions automatically enroll you in this service whether or not they offer the other email alerts. These emails notify you when important changes are made to your customer profile, like a change of address, change of password, or when you open a new account.
Most banks with online banking allow you to download your account information as a spreadsheet or in a format that money management programs like Quicken and MS Money can read. If you're looking for a way to manage your money and haven't used these programs before, you should also learn about the online banking services your bank or credit union already provides. Online banking has advanced greatly in the last few years, and many financial institutions offer tools to help you budget your finances within online banking. You should also read about personal finance management web apps like Mint.com These sites don't offer as many features, but many people find them easy to use and "good enough" at balancing their budget.
Compare checking accounts and reloadable debit cards from local banks and credit unions for free
- Requires no personal information
- Provides unbiased results
- Estimates bank fees
- Takes only minutes
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