Online Banking Vs. Mobile Banking

While PC-based online banking is not much older than a high school student, mobile banking is still in elementary school. With the proliferation of smartphones, however, online banking’s younger sibling is quickly catching up to the slightly more established option.

Banking through your PC’s web browser offers a full menu of services. You can easily and conveniently schedule payments, transfer funds, add new payees, open new accounts, apply for loans, view current and past statements, and access information about specific checks that have been deposited. A PC or Mac allows you to view an extensive array of details and options, giving you full control of your accounts.

Mobile banking is very popular internationally. In some parts of the world, traditional banking infrastructure is not consistently available, and so mobile banking is the primary banking option. With a few exceptions, mobile banking, typically conducted via mobile application, offers the same basic features as browser-based online banking. In particular, mobile banking emphasizes “transactional” features, such as bill payments, check deposits (where available, this feature allows a customer to take a picture of a check to be deposited), mobile person-to-person payments, and balancing checks.

Mobile banking can also offer additional security by enabling text-backs, which employ a customer’s phone as a second form of authentication when using either browser-based or mobile banking.

If you use your smartphone to access your bank’s website directly, the website may recognize that you are using a mobile browser and automatically offer you a dedicated application. If not, search your preferred mobile market or app store to see what your bank offers. Either way, it’s a good idea to give mobile banking a try. It’s a time-saver that can often be more secure than traditional online banking.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures