Online Banking Features You Should Try Out

Convenience isn’t the only perk of using a mobile banking app. Plenty of these apps come with features that you’ll want to try out!

02:34 23 September 2023

You’ve considered using a mobile banking app because it’s convenient. After all, you don’t have to wait in line at the nearest bank branch during your lunch break to check on your account. You can pull out your smartphone, open your app and do it all when you’re at home.

Convenience isn’t the only perk of using a mobile banking app. Plenty of these apps come with features that you’ll want to try out!

Mobile Alerts

Most banking apps allow users to set up mobile alerts. These alerts will go off when something important happens to your bank account. You’ll receive an email, text message or app notification to give you notice of the alert. This should help you jump into action.

One type of alert that you can set up is a low balance alert for your checking account. If your account’s balance dips below a pre-set threshold, your alert will go off and you’ll be notified that your balance is “too low.” This information could be extremely useful. You’ll know that you don’t have much money available, so you should be very cautious about any transactions that you make with your checking account. Otherwise, you could risk problems like putting your account into overdraft or bouncing a check that you sent out earlier.

A low balance alert can be useful for savings accounts, too. If you’re using a savings account to store your emergency fund, you might make a withdrawal when you get hit with an urgent, unplanned expense. That withdrawal could be big enough to drain your account and leave you with very little for the next emergency. You don’t want to assume that you have enough to cover another surprise expense and then realize with shock that the account is practically empty. A low balance alert could let you know that your savings have run dry and warn you to fill up the account again.

If you’re ever in a situation where you don’t have enough emergency savings, you can try to turn to a personal loan for help. You can go to the website CreditFresh to see whether you meet the loan requirements there. With an approved personal loan, you can use temporary funds to cover a surprise expense quickly and then attend to a repayment plan soon after.

What other mobile alerts can you set up?

• High balance alert
• Large purchase alert
• Large ATM withdrawal alert
• Profile change alert
• Password change alert

ATM Locators

Whenever you make a withdrawal from an ATM that’s out of your bank’s network, you will pay extra. You will have to pay an ATM operator’s fee and an out-of-network ATM fee. In total, you’ll lose out on approximately $5 for your poor choice of ATM. This isn’t a significant loss — but if you make a habit of using the wrong ATMs, you might find that you’re wasting money when you don’t have to.

When you pick an ATM that’s in your network, you can avoid both of these small fees. You’ll get to do your banking without having to pay extra. This is easier said than done — you’ll have to know exactly where the in-network ATMs are whenever you’re out and about. How can you possibly figure out where they are?

Your banking app can help you. Your banking app might have an ATM locator that will guide you to all of the in-network ATMs that are nearest to your location. So, no matter where you are, you might be able to skip those unnecessary charges.

Credit Score Tracking

Your consumer credit score is a ranking of your creditworthiness according to credit bureaus. The score gives lenders a general idea of your credit experience and lets them know whether you are a responsible borrower. Based on your score, they can surmise whether you are a high-risk or low-risk borrower. This information will help them determine whether they will approve you for a loan — and if they do approve you for a loan, what your loan terms should be.

Your credit score is not just helpful for getting approved for loans. There are many advantages to having a good credit score. For instance, if you’re applying to rent a new apartment, the landlord could run a credit check on you. If your score is high, they’re more likely to accept your application.

Don’t worry if your score is not as high as you’d like it to be. Your current score isn’t permanent. There are several things that you can do to improve your score, like paying your bills on time and correcting errors on your credit report.

Some banking apps can make it easy to track your credit score. So, you can see how your habits are impacting your score and, hopefully, bringing it up the ranks over time. Once your score reaches a certain height, you might feel confident to apply for a brand-new loan.

All of these features will come in handy. So, stop shuffling your feet! Download your bank’s app!