How to Overcome the Pitfalls of Mobile Banking

With the majority of Americans having smart phones and ours being such a mobile society, most banks have their own smart phone app. This allows customers easier access to their bank accounts. The most common feature on mobile banking is the function to allow consumers to check their account balances and transaction statements 24 hours a day. Another good feature on mobile banking apps is being able to pay bills and transfer money to different accounts.

Some bank apps allow you to deposit checks to any of your accounts by taking a screenshot of the check (front and back). The bank receives the image of the check and processes the transaction. If you plan on using this feature, make sure you read the fine print of your bank’s mobile banking policy to see if there is a fee to deposit checks through the app. Also make sure you know how soon the money will be available to you in your account, especially if it is an out-of-state check.

Most banks have an alert system that will notify you via text message regarding your account activity. If you sign up for bank alerts, you may be able to detect if someone is stealing money from your account. Instant notification of activity helps you take immediate action. Some mobile banking apps even offer rewards such as shopping discounts and deals from retailers where you shop frequently.

A word of caution: Keeping your phone passcode protected makes your mobile banking more secure. Also, in the app, make sure you never have the “save my user ID” feature on; doing without that “convenience” makes it harder for criminals to access your bank account information if something were to happen with your phone.

If you do lose your phone, be sure that it is traceable and cannot be used by anyone else. If you are an iPhone user, then you should have the “Find My iPhone” app; this enables you to lock your phone remotely, making it useless for whoever finds it. See if you can put a PIN lock on specific apps on your phone, which will give your bank information more security. If this service is available to you, however, it might cost extra.

Make sure all of your bank apps are updated because criminals can easily hack into your outdated banking apps. It is also important that you check to see if your bank account can only be linked with certain devices. This will make it harder for hackers to access your bank account.

READERS, what do you think?

1.     Do you use your bank’s mobile app? If so, do you like it? Are there any drawbacks that you see?

2.     What do you usually use your mobile bank app for?

References:

Davis, G. (2013, March 8). Pros and Cons of Mobile Banking. McAfee Labs. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from https://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/consumer-threat-notices/pros-and-cons-of-mobile-banking.

Gerstner, L. (2015, March). Make the Most of Mobile Banking. Kiplinger.com. Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://www.kiplinger.com/article/credit/T005-C000-S002-make-the-most-of-mobile-banking.html.

 

Huddleston, C. (2014, January 9). Why You Should Try Your Bank's Mobile App. Kiplinger.com. Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://www.kiplinger.com/article/credit/T005-C011-S001-why-you-should-try-your-bank-s-mobile-app.html.