If you love the convenience of banking from your phone or computer, you’re not alone. According to the FDIC’s How America Banks study, over 56% of bank customers complete their transactions online or with their smartphones.
While you may be taking advantage of direct deposit and the ability to check your account balance online, you may not be using your bank’s electronic options to their full potential. Digital banking can be a powerful tool that can streamline your finances.
5 Things You Can Do With Digital Banking
Digital banking offers you contactless convenience. There’s no need to drive to a brick-and-mortar bank or worry about branch hours; you can do most banking tasks online.
Of course, if you bank locally, you can still visit your community branch if you need in-person assistance. The benefit of digital banking is simply that it gives you the power to complete transactions whenever and wherever works best for you.
Here are some things you can do with digital banking to simplify your money management tasks and save time:
1. You can pay bills online
With digital banking, you can sign up for automatic bill payments for your rent, car insurance, and even your student loans.
By signing up for automatic payments, you can reduce the risk of missing a payment, which can damage your credit score. Some companies even offer discounts to autopay customers!
With automatic payments, it doesn’t matter if you’re away on vacation or are simply busy. You can relax knowing that your bills will always be paid on time.
2. You can track your expenses
If you have a SouthEast Bank account, you can take advantage of digital spending and budgeting tools, which are built right into your mobile and online banking platforms. SouthEast Bank will automatically track and categorize your spending so you can easily keep track of your progress. You can also use the digital banking tools to see how much you spend in certain categories, such as dining out or clothing.
You can create a budget and set spending limits within categories to help you stay on track. By tracking your spending and having a visual representation of how much you spend in different areas, you might find some places where you can cut back.
For instance, you may realize you’re spending a lot of money on out-of-network ATM fees because you take out cash multiple times a month to pay for lunch or other purchases. By visiting the ATM just once — or by only withdrawing cash from in-network ATMs — you can save money every month. Making small changes like that can help you achieve your financial goals faster.
3. You can transfer money
If you’re saving toward a specific goal, such as buying a new home or a European vacation, it’s useful to have a designated savings account for that purpose. Seeing that savings account grow can help keep you motivated, and it prevents you from tapping into that money for other non-essential expenses.
Transferring money between accounts can be a pain if you don’t use digital banking. But with a digital checking and savings account, you can transfer money between accounts seamlessly. You can set up automatic transfers to your savings account, or make manual transfers if you get a windfall.
4. You can make mobile deposits
While people are relying more and more on electronic payments, there are some occasions where a check is still necessary. If you don’t have time to drive to the bank to cash a physical check, you’re in luck – digital banking has you covered.
Instead of wasting time and fuel, digital banking allows you to deposit checks right from your phone. Through your bank’s app, you can simply take a picture of your check and deposit it digitally, from wherever you are.
5. You can get fraud alerts
While you can take several precautions to protect yourself, identity theft is still an unfortunate reality for some. In fact, over 14.4 million Americans were victims of identity fraud in 2019.
By stealing your personal information, criminals can open credit cards, and even apply for loans in your name. Because of the risk of identity theft, digital banking is invaluable. If your bank’s mobile app allows, you can receive real-time mobile alerts about any changes made to your account. You can opt to receive alerts if there is a log-in attempt or if someone requests an account transfer.
SouthEast Bank customers can also enjoy 24/7 fraud protection through SouthEast Verifi. Through this service, the bank team monitors your debit card for any suspicious activity. If the bank notices any purchases that don’t seem to fit, SouthEast Bank will contact you for verification before allowing the transaction to go through, giving you an added layer of protection.
Taking advantage of digital banking
If you’re worried about security, protecting your privacy, or simply want to streamline how you manage your money, digital banking is an excellent option. You can monitor your accounts, pay friends, and pay your bills quickly and easily.
If you’re a SouthEast Bank customer, you can enroll now to begin managing your money digitally.
Note: Links to other websites or references to services or applications are provided as a convenience only. A link does not imply SouthEast Bank’s sponsorship or approval of any other site, service or application. SouthEast Bank does not control the content of these sites, services or applications.
Information contained in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing contained in this blog should be construed as legal or tax advice. An attorney or tax advisor should be consulted for advice on specific issues.
