For years, banks were the bosses - they opened short hours, often charged excessive fees, and made customers dance to their tune. But things have changed. Nowadays most of no longer lead lives that don't fit neatly with bank opening hours. The solution? Online Banking.
What does online banking have to offer? Well, for starters, if you use online banking, it's always open, so you don't need to queue at a branch to pay bills or check your balance. But there's a lot more services available - most accounts offer the following facilities:
- Pay bills to UK bank accounts.
- Pay money into other UK bank accounts.
- Check statements and account balances.
- Transfer money between your accounts.
- Set up or change standing orders and cancel Direct Debits.
- Apply for loans.
There's another option also worth considering. Rather than just open an internet account with your current bank, you could consider using a dedicated online bank. These are financial institutions which provide the majority of their banking services over the internet. The advantage? Typically, they are able to offer high savings rates and low loan rates.
Of course, you want to be sure that they are reputable before you invest any money, but remember that by sticking to a "brick and mortar" institution you may be missing out on high paying investment options or competitive loan rates.
