Whether online banking is safe or not is a question I ask myself many times. Especially in light of recent events of fraud, phishing, and scams. In a time when banks are already considered a safe place to keep your money and conduct business transactions through them, they have gone one step further by introducing secure online banking facilities in the form of internet banking, UPI transactions and lots more.
From making payments of utility bills online to ordering food and groceries digitally, from loading money into our trading accounts to buying securities from the capital market, to paying for our favourite content subscriptions, online banking is a tool that makes life convenient and effortless.
The convenience aside, there’s good reason to evaluate the security of online banking. Let’s dive in:
As is the case with all technologies, online banking has its fair share of pros and cons. On one end of the spectrum, you get effortless access to a wide array of banking services. On the other hand, certain risks can render online banking unsafe. On that note, let’s understand the pros of online banking with the help of a few examples.
One of the main selling points of online banking is the sheer amount of time you save using the service. Instead of going to your bank branch to make a bill payment or create a fixed deposit, this can be done from the comfort of your home or office and at a time of your choosing.
One of the most valuable aspects of online banking is having all the tools you need to secure your bank account and transactions. All you have to do is ensure that you use your bank's official website or mobile application to make any kind of banking transactions. If you are using a web browser, it is imperative to have a safe connection.
You have to ensure the confidentiality of your account access details. You must never share your online banking login credentials, passwords, card details, or account details. Remember that the aforementioned details are the keys to the locks of your bank accounts.
Since online banking removes the requirement of branch visits to access banking services, you save time and money in the process. Whether you wish to start a recurring deposit or a fixed deposit, block your debit card, buy a life insurance policy, or make a bill payment, online banking spares you the trouble and cost of actually visiting your home branch to carry out simple and everyday banking tasks.
Another important pro of online banking is that it is largely paperless. The creation of a Fixed deposit, for instance, can be carried out in a few clicks. Online banking is, therefore, incredibly eco-friendly. What can be better than being able to reduce your carbon footprint by simply switching to paperless banking? This is just one of many ways secure online banking can make your life easier and more sustainable.
Now that we have discussed some of the major pros of online banking, it is wise to discuss the flip side of the coin -
The very fabric of online banking is woven around cashless and virtual banking. In a largely cashless economy, you can carry out a vast number of banking transactions through digital banking. And you shall have a record of those transactions in the form of their digital blueprint.
If branch banking is at the conventional end of the banking spectrum, then online banking is on the other end. If you wish to carry out your banking transactions through your bank's physical branch, online banking shall fall short.
Branch banking is driven by customer footfall and tangible application forms for all services, ranging from issuing a cheque book, debit card, credit card, Internet banking kit, etc. Online banking, on the other hand, is absolutely branchless.
Although highly convenient, this aspect of online banking tends to render banking impersonal. The lack of any human participation is often cited as one of the major drawbacks of online banking.
One of the reasons why many people (especially from older generations) are not too keen to hop onto the online banking bandwagon is that it seeps out the personal touch with bankers. Whilst visiting a branch entails the creation of personal relationships with bankers - cordial bonds that sometimes last years, the same is not the case for online banking.
Furthermore, not all banking services are accessible through online banking. Some banking services require you to visit your home branch, particularly services that need to be personalised and are, therefore, often beyond the realm of the algorithm-driven premise of online banking.
You hold the key information required to access your online banking account. If you happen to be careless, you will leave your bank account vulnerable to infiltration. One of the main reasons why the question 'Is Online Banking Safe' still does the rounds of our collective conscience is the rising instances of banking frauds we hear and read about every day.
However, it is important to remember that as long as you are careful about preserving private banking information, you are at minimal risk of banking fraud. The fact road accidents occur must not entail plans never to walk or drive down a road. Everything is ridden with risks. And secure online banking is no different. It is how we manage those risks that define the potential for the success of any endeavour.
You can be assured that your bank shall do the needful to keep your online banking experience seamless, swift, and safe. However, you must also bear some proportion of the responsibility and engage in safe and secure online banking.
If you are looking for a safe and seamless online banking experience, you can try and open a bank account with Fi. Check out our site or download the app and enter the world of secure online banking.
Online banking accounts are absolutely safe and secure. For all intents and purposes, online banking accounts cover the entire spectrum of important banking services. Visit the official website of Fi now and check out our Digital Savings Account.
