In this day and age, most of us have net banking accounts and some of us have multiple of them. It becomes essential that we take precautions while accessing them and knowing what the bank has to offer on a regular basis. We cannot turn a blind eye and use the bank accounts just to check our cash balance. A bank account is much more than that and one needs to stay in constant touch to gain most out of them.
Some of the privileged ones do get the option to have a personal banker, who is just a call away. But they will also not do everything for you. Some things the customer has to do by themselves. We had a word with people at ArthaYantra.com who are an online financial planning advisory and they gave us 7 tips on how you can manage your bank accounts better and maintain online banking security.
1. Know your charges
Every bank has their own set of rules defined for the various banking accounts they offer. Most of us often ignore the charges that are levied by banks for transactions and maintenance of account. One should also know the rules pertaining to maintaining the minimum balance and the penalties they are going to face if not able to meet the specific criteria of the banks.
2. Know the change of status in bank account during job switch
Since different organizations have tie ups with different banks, it is important for individuals to know how their existing bank accounts will be treated when salary is no longer credited in it. Salary accounts are generally treated as zero balance accounts. They are converted to regular savings bank accounts when no longer the salary is being credited in the account. Individuals should make a note of charges levied for the maintenance of account and the minimum balance they have to maintain in such cases.
3. Monitor the account regularly
Online banking has gained traction over the years making it easy for individuals to monitor their accounts. Majority of the banks send an SMS immediately to their clients to inform the transactions that happened in their account. However, it is still important to go through the monthly statements and monitor the accounts periodically to ensure that all transactions have been authorized by them. Periodic monitoring of the accounts also helps individuals in knowing their monthly cash inflows and outflows.
4. Update the phone numbers and address
Individuals have to ensure that they inform a change in phone number or address to their respective banks whenever it happens. Since most of the online transactions are authorized through one time passwords, keeping the banks updated with change in phone number ensures that the operations run smoothly.
5. Login from a secure machine and beware of phishing emails
Though online banking provides a wide range of advantages, the flip side comes with the possibility of hacking the bank accounts. Individuals should ensure that they login to their bank accounts using secure systems and not click on any email links which they think are malicious.
6. Change the banking passwords at regular intervals
One should avoid using same set of passwords for all their accounts. If one of the accounts is hacked it increases the possibility of extending the hack threat to the next bank account. The passwords should be changed at regular intervals and individuals should follow the norms in designing a strong password with a mix of upper case, lower case letters, numbers and special characters.
7. Never share or store card numbers or login credentials on email or phone
Individuals should refrain from sharing or storing their login credentials or card numbers over emails or phones. This increases the possibility of security threat.
Source : http://www.businessinsider.in
