Mobile banking was already becoming more popular when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, but the restrictions and other disruptions caused by the pandemic have shifted banking using an app from a nice to have feature to one that is necessary. The main appeal of mobile banking is its convenience. Most consumers have their smartphones with them almost all the time, which is more and convenient and easy online banking, so having a mobile banking app makes it easier for them to quickly attend to a range of financial needs whenever they need to. The importance of mobile banking has only grown during a time when bank branch hours have been reduced, and many bank call centers are no longer open around the clock.
Access the Bank 24/7
Unlike using a bank with physical branch locations, switching to an internet bank that you can use on your smartphone like Bankoflabor.com means that you will conveniently get access to your account whenever you like, except for when there is a rare planning maintenance update or an unexpected outage. This can help you save time. For example, you can use many banking apps to deposit a check by simply taking a photo of it from the comfort of your own home, instead of having to head out to the bank during opening hours to do it.
Understand Your Spending Habits
Mobile banking allows you to get a clearer idea of where your money is going and what your spending habits are. Unlike traditional banking, where you might need to wait until your statement arrives in the mail to see where your money has gone that month, or call up to check your bank balance, a mobile app gives you access to all the information you need right at your fingertips. This makes it easier to see where you are spending more money than you would like and where you can cut down.
Manage Your Money
The best mobile banking apps today are designed to make it easier for you to manage your money. For example, you can find apps that have features in place that allow you to organize your money into different pots or sections of your account so that you can budget better and optimize your savings. Some mobile banking apps also allow you to set up automatic savings including ‘round up’ features that save the pennies each time you spend.
Make Quick Payments
When you use a mobile banking app, paying money back to somebody that you owe couldn’t be easier. Whether you’re repaying some money that you borrowed from a family member or splitting the restaurant bill with a friend, banks across the country are now partnered with Zelle, allowing consumers to send somebody money quickly and easily using their bank’s mobile app rather than paying with a check or cash. All you need to know is somebody’s email address or phone number to make a payment to them.
Control Your Account
A mobile banking app offers you more control over your bank account and your money. You can use features to send money to people whenever you like or deposit checks easily from home. And many banking apps are now getting more advanced. For example, you can find apps that allow you to easily activate a new credit or debit card with just a couple of clicks. If you get a new card and forget to activate it before trying to spend with it, you will get a push notification from the app reminding you to activate your card rather than it simply being declined. Along with this, you can often find mobile banking apps that offer more card controls to help keep you secure, including features that you can use to deactivate your credit or debit card if you lose it or if it is stolen, and easily reactivating it in the app if you find it again.
More Security
Banks are dedicated to keeping your assets secure, including transactions that are made using a mobile app. There are lots of ways that you can improve security precautions if you are worried about the security of online banking. Most of the time, you will be required to set up a username and password to log into your mobile banking app. Two-step or even multi-step authentication is also required by lots of banks to make sure that it is really you trying to log in. Along with this, some smartphones and bank apps allow you to log in using biometrics like scanning your fingerprint or face to make it harder for anybody else to log in.
After COVID-19, it’s clear that mobile banking has become a bigger necessity for most customers.