Do You Use Online Banking?

[Rigamarole]

@Lukeinva

Yes. It’s great. If I could somehow get cash withdrawals direct from my PC it would be even greater.

I hear that this is possible using a special type of printer, however it may also draw unwanted attention from the FBI.

[silenus]

All the time. Bill pay, balance checking…between on-line and ATMs I rarely deal with people at my credit union anymore. Which is a pity, because they are nice people.

[Sudden_Kestrel]

We don’t and won’t until we are forced to. We’re ornery that way.

[Inigo_Montoya]

I do. Between the US Post Office and the mail rooms of the dozen or so places I pay every month there is just no telling when a payment will be posted to an account. Lets me keep a better eye on my balance as well. Haven’t had a negative account balance since I decided to stop writing & mailing checks so I’m winning so far.

I’ve thought about security, but it’d be trivially easy for some Nigerian punk to grab my mail and get online and raise hell. If you want to screw with my accounts you need to at least be cool enough to build the malware.

[purplehorseshoe]

@Hello_Again

Hate it, loathe it with the fire of a thousand suns. I have an online only HSBC savings account. It really isn’t their fault, but it’s absolute shite for me.

The security keys are too complicated for me, so I forget them, then I have to call a nice man in Mumbai and go through a 40 minute procedure to change my passwords and keys. Which I immediately forget. End result I have been unable to do the least thing with it in 4 years, without aforesaid 40 minute phone call happening first. Not exactly a time saver. Nor is there any financial advantage: the interest rate is under 1% the last time I checked (the entire reason for opening the account was to get get a better interest rate, which was like 3.8% when I opened it).

I am working up the energy to call the nice people in Mumbai to close my account. It makes me feel tired just talking about it.

Sweet stumbling Jesus, why don’t you write 'em down on a Post-It or something?

[Nars_Glinley]

@purplehorseshoe

Sweet stumbling Jesus, why don’t you write 'em down on a Post-It or something?

Or get KeePass.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

@That_Don_Guy

My only gripe with online banking is, I have direct deposit to my savings account, but I have to pay pretty much all of my bills out of my checking account as my bank charges me $10 (and threatens to close my account if I do it three times in 12 months) if I have more than six online transfers from my savings account, including transfers to my checking account.

Why do you do it backwards? I have an automatic transfer set up, with a set amount transferring from checking to savings the day after each payday. No withdrawals from savings at all. Automatic deposit is to checking, since that’s where all the transactions happen. Doing it backwards doesn’t make sense.

I’ve been using online banking for probably 10 years. I get one paper bill a year, from my safety deposit box at a different bank. That’s pretty much the only check I write. My rent check is sent by the bank and it’s the only other mailed item. I have 9 bills a month that are all electronically withdrawn from my account, and man, it’s such a timesaver!

I use community banks, so the bells and whistles aren’t exactly all there, but PayPal helps make up for that (i.e. transfers via cell number or email), and one of the banks recently released a smartphone app, which is very handy.

[Roderick_Femm]

@Quartz

No way. I work in IT and know that it’s just too risky. It only takes one piece of malware and that’s it.

Besides, the bank’s in walking distance anyway.

I would be interested in knowing exactly what is at risk with malware - my online bank passwords? I guess that would be enough. They wouldn’t find my SS number or anything like that in my bank records. Also, my online banks (I currently have 5, counting credit cards) seem pretty committed to security, most of them have more than just password security.

So can you please elaborate? Whenever I hear claims like this, I think that if it were really as bad as you paint, online banking would virtually disappear.
Roddy

[MannyL]

I have my bi-weekly paycheck go into Savings then I do a transfer of most of it to checking and pay my bills.

The 6 withdrawal limit from a savings account is a Federal rule not the bank or credit union’s

And for those wondering why I don’t have it go directly to checking well I goofed when I filled out my direct deposit paperwork and to change it they have to stop the direct deposit then re-start it and it can take three to four pay cycles to do.

[Cunctator]

I use online banking for pretty much everything: transfers between my accounts; bill payments; transfers to external parties.

[AHunter3]

Used it since the early 1990s when it was a dial-up service not using HTTP, accessed via their own proprietary dialup software.

And yes I like it.

[brittekland]

I have for at least 10 years and no problem whatsoever so far.

[kferr]

@Quartz

No way. I work in IT and know that it’s just too risky. It only takes one piece of malware and that’s it.

I work in IT security (I’m a CISSP) and have no problem with online banking. I have accounts in three banks that I’ve never set foot in.

[Clark_Cello]

Of course I do. I am not 84 years old, nor do I live in 1996.

[highrollinwooded]

Online all the way! I only pay 2 bils with a paper check, everything else via online banking! Our paychecks are all direct deposited, with a certain amount going into my personal checking account for the mortgage, and if I need to, I can transfer how ever many times I like with the numerous accounts to shift money, with no charge! I for one am not going back in time, I am embracing technology!!!

[gotpasswords]

[QUOTE=kferr]
I work in IT security (I’m a CISSP) …
[/QUOTE]

Cool! Another CISSP staggers in. Surprisingly few of us here.

Ironically, today was that one time per year (or so) where I had to visit an actual bank. So far, we don’t allow our customers to print certified checks at home, and I needed some official checks, so off I went to wait in line.