In case you’re wondering why we’ve referred to online banking as a friend with benefits; be patient. You’ll know soon enough. While most of us have made a switch to online banking, some still like to rely on the conventional ways of transferring and receiving money. Even those of us who prefer going ‘click-click’ for everything tend to harbour certain notions that hold us back from using online banking for everything.
Additional Reading: Is Your Financial Life On Track?
The reasons for not trusting online banking all the time vary from something as serious as apprehensions about security to something as small as a bad internet connection, or a friend’s bad experience. Is online banking really this flawed? The answer is no. On the contrary, it has many benefits as compared to the conventional system of banking. Although we may fail to see it, online banking simplifies our lives in so many ways. Don’t believe us? Consider the following scenarios:
- Rent overdue and it’s a Sunday. The landlord is after your life to pay the rent and you obviously don’t have that kind of cash handy (that’s why we have banks, right?). Back to the problem—you can’t withdraw that much cash from the ATM. Moreover, it isn’t the quickest way to pay the rent, since you’ve already procrastinated a lot. If you solely rely on conventional methods of banking, you’ll have to wait for Monday to take a half day from work and visit the bank. Also, you might get a notice from the landlord to vacate the house soon. Here’s where online banking can come to the rescue. Although you procrastinated a lot (which is not good, by the way), you still can pay your landlord on time and keep your house secured. One IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) transfer is all it takes to calm your landlord down.
Additional Reading: Should I Buy A House Or Continue Staying On Rent?
- You’re looking to surprise a friend on their birthday by planning a getaway with them. The first thing you need to do before planning and making all the other necessary arrangements for your trip is to figure out your budget. Since it’s their birthday, you obviously can’t ask them to pay. So, guess what? The only person who’s supposed to pay and make all the arrangements is you! Before opening the web browser and checking out the best hotels and places to visit, you need to know the exact balance in your account. The other option could be using your Credit Card to take care of all the expenses, and then waiting for the biggest shock of your life the following month. We hope you won’t go all out swiping your card every chance you get. Given the urgency of the situation, online banking, once again, could be the only thing that can come to your rescue. Just login to your account and check your balance. It won’t take you more than ten seconds (provided you have a good internet connection). Otherwise, go out, look for the nearest ATM and check your balance. Since we know how smart you are, we’re sure you’d prefer the first option.
Check This: ATM Usage And You
- You’ve just reached home after a long day at work. Everything is normal, except the light switch that doesn’t seem to work. Given how frustrated and tired you already are, this just makes things worse. Suddenly, you realise that you were supposed to pay the electricity bill two days ago. And now, they’ve cut the power. You curse yourself and everything else around you. You have two options—either you could embrace the darkness and enjoy a frustrating candlelight dinner with no charge on your phone, or you could just use online banking to pay your electricity bill right away. Considering your mental state at that time, we know you’d rather go in for the second option.
- Your younger brother calls you. His laptop crashed and since he has his final project submission coming up, he needs a quick fix. To get this quick fix, however, he needs some cash immediately. Being the elder one, you’re supposed to help him. Instead of cancelling an important meeting and rushing to the bank, you can just use online banking to transfer money in seconds. This way, you’ll save you brother’s project and your client meeting too.
Hopefully, now you know why we called online banking your ‘friend with benefits’. It lets you enjoy all the benefits of a bank, without actually having to visit one. How cool is that? Come on! You have an app for almost everything, don’t you? Then why not simplify your life further by switching completely to online banking? Think about it!
Did you know you can also apply for Loans, Credit Cards and so much more online?