Checking Bank Accounts with Mobile Banking

The number of Americans who use mobile banking is surprisingly low when compared to countries in Western and Asia. This is a shame when you consider the great benefits of keeping track of checking account balances and paying bills on time by using mobile banking at a coffee shop, airport, or at your kid’s soccer game. The primary concern for those Americans who have been polled has been security and the prospect of losing their banking data. Consumers fear that either by losing their phones or by hackers gaining access to their phone that their most sensitive banking information could be stolen. Both of these fears can be alleviated to a high degree by using the mobile banking applications supported by their financial institution.

Perhaps one of the most basic ways to think about the effect of losing your phone is that without a pin number, as required by most mobile banking applications, a lost phone does not hold incredible value. Data stored on your phone is encrypted and can only be accessed after a pin number is entered. This does not mean that it is impossible for hackers to gain access, but it is not nearly as easy as most consumers might think. Another major point to consider is that a lost phone is rarely forgotten about. In most cases the cell phone provider is notified and service is discontinued within hours rendering the phone nearly useless. Hackers gaining access to your information through your phone’s Wi-Fi signal is not something security experts warn that you should worry about, although downloading attachments to your phone from unreliable sources can be a virus risk.

The safest way to conduct mobile banking is by downloading a proprietary application directly to your phone or PDA. This method of mobile banking is recommended by security experts over using the web browser built into your phone or PDA to bank remotely. Major banks like Chase Bank and Bank of America offer mobile banking applications which can be downloaded directly to your phone. Bank of America’s mobile banking service allows customers to access checking account balance information, pay bills online, transfer funds, and find nearby ATMs and branch offices. Chase Mobile offers the same mobile services as well as text access to your accounts. A special version of Chase Mobile is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch and can be downloaded from the Apple store. Other financial institutions which offer downloads from the Apple store include Wells Fargo Bank, Eastern Bank, Provident Bank, Bank of America, ING Direct, and Keypoint Credit Union. Many banks like Wachovia Bank offer mobile applications for Blackberry devices. Consumers can check the website of their bank to find out where to download a mobile banking application and make life a little simpler.