Transactions Available Through Online Banking

In the last unit, we learned the benefits of online banking. But can it stack against the traditional branch banking in terms of different transactions we can do? Let us find out:

Different banks have different kinds of online banking services. The portal of some is better than the other in terms of functionality, speed, and performance. Customers can perform the following transactions from most online banking portals:

Transfer Funds: Money can be easily transferred from one bank to another using options such as IMPS, NEFT, and RTGS. The time taken to transfer money varies from instantly in the case of IMPS to usually a few hours in the case of NEFT and RTGS.
Pay Bills: Online Banking provides a large range of options to pay monthly bills such as electricity bills, mobile bills, cooking gas bills, broadband bills, water bills, and even credit card bills of other banks. Customers can visit the respective service provider and pay using online banking or visit their online banking login ID and pay the bills. They can also link their bills to their net banking login ID so that on the bill due date, the due amount is automatically deducted from the savings account. This system is known as an ‘auto-debit facility’ which refers to a system where customers authorize banks to debit their account for an agreed sum of money automatically.
Open Fixed Deposits: Customers can check the rates of fixed deposits and open one from the Net Banking portal. There is no requirement to visit a branch and sign documents. The fixed deposit principal and interest are auto-credited to the customer’s account upon maturity.
Apply for Loans: Customers interested to avail of loans can apply for the same online. Upon receipt of interest, a bank representative contacts the customer and completes necessary documentation. Some banks offer a pre-approved loan amount to customers depending on the transaction history of their account. This is useful to obtain faster approval and disbursement of loans.
View Account Transactions: Customers can access their account transactions anytime on their online banking. Customers can also download account statements directly from online banking. The time period for which transactions are available varies from one bank to another. In case a customer requires a physical account statement stamped by the bank, the request for the same can also be made through online banking.
Access Credit Card Details: In case a customer holds a Credit Card from the bank where he/she holds a savings /current account, the same can be linked to online banking. This helps the customer access credit card details and monitor activity.
Linking of all relationships under a single ID: Customers can link all the banking relationships held with the same bank under a single online banking ID. This way, customers have a single portal to access their entire portfolio including savings/current account, credit card, loans, insurance, mutual funds, and others which translates to hassle-free banking.