Bank Balance Online

Bank Balance Online

Online Banking - Key Benefits

All the major banks offer online banking.  Online banking is a more efficient way of managing your bank accounts.  You can:

• Check your bank balances online and view statements online
• Move money between accounts
• Make payments to suppliers
• Set up regular payments such as salaries
• Order cheque books and statements
• Download account information to analyse on your computer

Online banking can be very cost-effective.  Charges are often lower than for ordinary accounts, and accounts may offer higher interest rates.  Banks usually offer online banking at no extra cost.

Larger businesses may also be offered "PC banking".  This requires the installation of special banking software on the computer you use to manage your account.  This can be a more effective solution if you have a large volume of banking transactions and directly link your accounting systems to your bank.

Online Banking - Considerations

See information on Internet Banking Security.

Online Banking - Migration

Most businesses can benefit from using online banking and find transfering fairly straight forward.

Before you start to plan the migration, make sure you:

• Identify your objectives.  For example, you might simply want to reduce costs.  Alternatively, online banking might be part of an integrated IT system for handling accounting and payments
• Check what services your bank offers and whether they meet your needs
• Investigate what services other banks offer
• Find out about bank charges, interest rates and any standing charges
• Evaluate how your banking costs will change
• Talk to your suppliers and customers about the kind of electronic payment options they would like
• Assess whether you need any additional equipment, and whether any specialist set-up is required
• Estimate costs and timescales
• Identify which employees will be affected by the change and organise suitable training
• Ensure that you have proper security.
• Plan the introduction and testing of online banking
• If you are introducing online banking as part of a more complex IT program, you may want advice