Have you ever tried sending money from your account to your friend’s account with the use of a Smartphone or any other cellular device? Yes, that means you have tried mobile banking. You can also check your account balances, do bill payments, manage investments and locate an ATM through your gadget. This is the power of mobile banking.
Other names given to mobile banking are M-banking or SMS banking. Various banks decides what services you are going to have for example some banks give you the option of text alerts in which messages are sent to your cell phone in case you have withdrawn money, deposited money or in case of credit card use. This is the simplest and most basic type of mobile banking.
What else can be done through this banking? You can log into your account from a mobile and make payments, notify the bank in case of lost or stolen credit card, receive a new PIN or view a monthly statement. There is no need to physically visit the bank.
Cyber experts are concerned about the security of mobile banking. They advise not to perform large transactions through mobile banking. They say to keep an alphanumeric password to keep your PIN safe. Many banks send one-time use passwords for enhanced security. It expires automatically after it is used once, within a certain period of time.
How it works?
There are three ways by which mobile banking can be performed. SMS messaging, mobile web or applications developed for iPhone, Android or Blackberry.
In SMS messaging, you can transfer funds or access account information via text message. You need to register first and verify your phone numbers with your bank.
In mobile web banking, you can log on to the user’s account via mobile web browser. Through this option you can then check your balances, perform bill payments and do account transfers.
The mobile banking applications for smartphones connect you directly to the bank server for complete banking functionality. You need not to navigate a mobile web browser. You can download these applications either from the bank’s website or through the iTunes store.
The technology has become more advanced as banks are switching towards account rewards confirmation, person-to-person payments (P2P) and remote deposit capture (RDC).
RDC allows you to scan your checks and transmit the scanned image to a bank for posting and clearing. Once the bank receives the scanned images of both sides of check it then deposits the money in the same way just like a teller.
You can efficiently manage your occasional administrative tasks if you are a small or medium sized business owner with mobile banking. This saves a lot of time. Instead of waiting in a line at a bank to deposit your checks you can now meet new customer and close a sale in the same time.
For banks, with mobile banking there comes a drastic cut in operational costs.
There is one more advantage with mobile banking. There is no need of internet connection as it utilizes the mobile connectivity of telecom operators.
Several financial transactions can be performed conveniently with the help of mobile.
You can easily manage your investments with mobile banking.
Mobile banking is available round the clock 24 by 7, 365 days a year.