With the advent of online payments and online banking, there is a lot of convenience, especially in terms of bill payments. Standing in long queues for bill payments is passé, thanks to the various online payment options. With online banking, you can also monitor your account very closely and you don’t have to visit the bank branch quite often. By using your computer or laptop, you can access your account from almost any place.
Verification of transactions is also possible by using online means these days. With online access to your bank account, you can verify debit card purchases, ATM cash withdrawals, and any other transactions. Once you are connected to your online bank account, you can easily download transactional data and verify the same at your own convenience.
Most banks are offering online bill payments to their customers. This facility not only saves money, but it also saves a lot of time of the customers. With some banks there are some additional charges that you may have to pay to avail the bill payment services. There are some third party bill payment services, such as Mobikwik that are offering additional discounts in bill payment by using Mobikwik coupons.
Before you take the decision of making online bill payments, you will have to look at the pros and cons of online bill payments. Also, you will need an online bank account from where you can make the payment. There is an online form that you need to fill out when you want to avail the bill payment services. When you make this request, the bank will debit the designated amount on a monthly basis on your behalf. When you opt for automatic bill payments, you will save on cheques, stamps moreover, you will not have to visit the bank or the merchant establishment all the time.
You need to keep in mind that while online bill payment is more convenient and easier, it is not always faster and cheaper. For those establishments that don’t have the facility to accept electronic payments, it may take a longer time for the remittances. In fact, sending cheques to such establishments may be considered to be faster and easier. If you are planning for online banking, you will have to do some research. Always read the terms and conditions of the bank or third party service provider. There are fine prints in the terms and conditions that may get missed out, which may give you surprises later.
Although most online banking transactions are safe, there are some rare cases of phishing that have given online payments a bad name. As a customer, you will have to understand the dos and don’ts of online banking before you actually start to make any transactions. You may have to go to the bank personally to get the details of the security features of online banking with that bank. You will have to get a complete understanding of setting strong passwords, 128-bit data encryption, PINs (Personal Identification Numbers) etc.