electronic bank statements rather than the traditional paper statements. Not only is this better for the environment as it saves paper, it can help you stay more organized and on top of your accounts. Most online banking portals will have a tab where you can view your statements in electronic form, sometimes as a .PDF that you can also save to your own harddrive.[3]
Usually, there will be an option in your online banking portal to stop all paper statements from being mailed to your home and switch entirely to digital statements. Choose this option if you’re interested.
Some banks offer incentives to customers who want to switch to electronic statements, like a small percentage docked from the interest rates on credit lines. Check with your bank to see if there are any perks for switching to digital statements.
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3
Use online bill pay. Many banks offer a free bill pay service through your online banking portal where you can pay utilities, rent, and other monthly charges. You might also have the option to schedule Online Govt. Policies these payments ahead of time and not even have to worry about them each month. Many services now have the option to link your bank account for automatic payments, which you can then monitor through your online banking portal.[4]
Remember: only set up automatic or scheduled payments if you are sure the funds will be in your account on the day those bills will process. You won’t want to get hit with any overdraft fees.
To keep track of your bills, try writing them all down in a notebook, or enter them all into a spreadsheet. You can also use a budgeting software to give you more tools to track your bills and spending.[5]in
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Apply for lines of credit or loans through the online portal. Once you are a customer of a bank and have an account with them, you can often use the online banking portal to sign up for new accounts as well. Once you’re logged in, all the information the bank has on file for you can be accessed, so applying for new lines of credit, opening new accounts, or even applying for loans or mortgages can sometimes be done right from the comfort of your home.[6]
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5
Check for special offers or messages in the portal. Online banking portals often have message inboxes where you will be securely notified of new account statements, and changes to your account information. Make sure you locate this inbox and check it regularly. Not only will you find these important account alerts, you might also find customer-only offers for new banking products. Credit lines with low introductory interest rates, high-yield savings accounts, and other services might be offered to you specifically through that message inbox.
These alerts may or may not also forward to the personal email account you have tied to the banking account. Some online portals might require you to specifically select this option in the settings of your online banking inbox.