The Pros and Cons of the Best Online Banking Websites

Online banking is one of the most popular activities that consumers do online today. There are some great internets banking websites. Various customers have admitted that the majority of their banking business is done as a combination of the internet and ATMs while others admit that all of their business is done online.

Nearly all banks have developed websites that permit their customers to take care of their personal or business financial needs from the comfort of their home. This includes not only the huge names found in the marketplace, but also the mom and pop shops for local banks.

A number of banks are online only and do not have a physical address for customers to visit. Therefore, the face of the bank has changed to be one that customers interact with online only.

There are several reasons why a customer may never set foot inside of their banking institution. For a number of customers that may live in a rural area, they may only open and close their accounts at the brick and mortar address of their bank.

These are the banks that have that certain something about their website that makes customer sit up and take notice and recognize them as the best of the best for online banking websites.

HSBC Bank USA

HSBC Bank offers customers the ability to do their online banking in more than one language. This is wonderful for many customers that may not speak English as their first language. Since HSBC Bank USA happens to do a large portion of their business around the world this is not a surprising find.

They offer one of the best free checking account that includes online bill pay and banking online free of charge. If you use online aggregation for your account you will be happy to find this feature free of charge with HSBC Bank USA. As an added plus for HSBC Bank USA customers that use the brokerage tied to the bank transactions can be done for only $25. The bank will also permit customers to roll over their IRAs and complete applications for mortgages and credit cards through their website.

One of the best advantages the site can offer is customized reports for tracking spending habits and the largest disadvantage for HSBC Bank USA is having a good enough reason to leave your current bank to come to HSBC Bank USA.

American Express

Amex or American Express Bank is similar to HSBC Bank’s website with their offering of online bill pay free of charge combined with easily moving money among your different American Express accounts.

You can access our American Express brokerage account information along with your banking information via the website. Applications for mortgages and credit cards can be done online. One of the biggest advantages is their policy to reimburse your ATM charges each month when using any ATM outside of their 4900 Amex machines found in the U.S.

One of their biggest disadvantages is that fact they are considered to have expensive fees for their services. When the expensive fees are combined with extremely low interest rates, their online appeal is diminished compared to HSBC Bank. Additionally they do not have access to any ATM network outside of the U.S. However, the American Express Bank name and ability to move money among different accounts with the company does account for some of their popularity.

NetBank

NetBank does have the infamy of being the original online only banking institution. NetBank provides free online bill pay with a checking account that offers competitive interest rates which is unusual for many online banks. Most banks may offer interest for savings, but checking accounts are few and far between for interest earning assets. There is no minimum balance customers need to keep to earn their interest. Interest earned for NetBank checking is five times the average national yield. They don’t charge their own ATM fee, but will not permit customers to transfer from non NetBank accounts to their NetBank accounts.

Advantages of NetBank include overnight delivery for foreign currency and traveler’s checks and the capability to online view the front and back of cancelled checks.

A large disadvantage for many customers is that NetBank doesn’t have a large ATM network, only 8300 ATMs, which means you will likely see an ATM fee charge for using a foreign ATM and NetBank does not reimburse their customers ATM fees. If using an ATM doesn’t happen to be an enormous part of your banking activity, NetBank may offer you more advantages than other online banks.

The online banking websites are an enormous part of customer satisfaction for many banking institutions. Banks have recognized with the majority of business done through the web that having a great website is part of the cost of doing good business. They know the importance of having a wonderful web presence that permits customers to get their banking done. Identifying this factor and continuously working to improve it will rank a bank among the best for online banking websites with customers.

Online banking is continuing to be a growing entity as the tech generation is expanding and managing their banking business. Banking business includes checking and savings, but can also incorporate loans, credit cards along with investment opportunities such as money market accounts and certificates of deposit. Mortgages are even processed via online banking websites.

These are the top three banks as voted by customers for online banking websites and the pros and cons delivered by each. Reviewing the pros and cons of each of these sites is a terrific way to determine if these are can work to make your finances work better for you.

The convenience of online banking is certainly an attraction for many customers. Customer service and appreciation will keep customers that visit banks that can produce the best online service for anyone that conducts their financial services via the internet. Banks that permit customers to manage, control, and organize in addition to handling their banking needs with ease through an online presence will continue to be leaders in the banking community.