Advantages of Online Banking for Small Business

Are you wasting your time and business capital by still writing checks, mailing invoices, and collecting payments with monthly statements on paper? It's time to opt for e-banking, a revolutionary platform for all your banking needs at your fingertips. Online banking offers easy access, secure transactions and 24-hour banking service from the comfort of your home.

Your chosen method to handle money is more important than you think. It can be a determining factor for the survival of your business. The digital age demands that you switch to online banking—a more efficient, convenient and cost-effective method. Small businesses greatly benefit from going digital; it generates value and saves time and resources. Let us look at the benefits of online banking for small businesses and explore the possibilities.

The main expertise of NOW CFO’s Brian Hayes is managing and growing small businesses via mentorship and sales leadership. According to him, accounting is one of the biggest hassles for business owners, and by using online banking, they can save both time and money. It keeps all of your transactions synced and your financial reports up-to-date.

What is online banking?

Online banking or e-banking enables you to manage your bank accounts at your convenience via your computer or mobile device. There is no need to visit your bank branch for simple banking procedures such as checking your account balance, fund transfers, loan applications, bill payments, deposits, and transaction verifications. E-banking offers services like bill payments, tax payments, new account openings, cash transfers to vendors and suppliers, loan applications, credit card applications and deposits.

What services does e-banking provide?

Transactional activities include instant bill payments and fund transfers, loan applications and transactions. Non-transactional activities include updating your personal and contact information, online statements, stopping payments and transactions, blocking your cards and requests for cheque books.

What are the benefits of online banking for small businesses?

Convenience: Check your balance, receive and make payments, move money between accounts and most importantly, skip the queue! You can access your banking system via multiple devices available at your fingertips without waiting for assistance from a teller, and you can do it from anywhere in the world at any given time, making it a truly global system. You will be able to make your financial decisions on your terms.

Easy to operate: Online banking or e-banking platforms are easy to navigate and operate. To opt for online banking, you can apply for the option at the time of opening your account or later. After that, you only have to log in to your internet banking account with the registered customer ID, and password and you’re ready to go.

Easy monitoring and tracking of business transactions: Most small businesses cannot invest in a complex financial management system to monitor and track their finances, as they are expensive. Therefore, an online banking platform is extremely beneficial for managing and keeping track of finances under one roof. With instant access to your accounts, you can stay up-to-date with emails and text messages and review your transactions easily and comfortably.

Instant payments: Online banking effortlessly makes scheduled payments for recurring bills and instant payments for bills you have just incurred. It is simple, easy to operate and faster than traditional banking.

Lower costs: It is pivotal for small businesses to find as many ways as possible to save money. Fortunately, e-banking minimises banking expenses and business overhead, as banking costs are often based on resource requirements. It also helps you capitalise on automated tools, such as Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT), which in turn helps you pay your bills quickly and without adding charges. Automating bill payments is an easy process, which enhances financial management and helps you avoid any unnecessary late fees, therefore saving you time and money.

Simplify payroll: Most online banks offer payroll management services, and it is a huge relief to small business owners. You can easily send and track payments to your employees without going through the hassle of paperwork.

Security and safety: Online banking offers a level of transparency for your financial transactions that helps prevent scams and frauds. Nowadays, people are increasingly concerned about the security of their data and financial information and do their best to protect themselves against data breaches. For this reason, banks adopt multiple layers of protection and put in place strong measures such as heavy encryption of data, the latest virus detection software programs and the use of firewalls. Online banking is also designed in such a way that only the primary or intended users can gain access to the funds, reducing the chances of a security breach.

Contactless: During the pandemic, online banking and digital payments have become an essential part of our lives. We need to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the coronavirus, and online banking lets you do just that. It is an instantaneous and independent method.

Bank with your mobile app: Mobile banking has been revolutionary, and it lets you take better advantage of online banking directly from your phone. From checking up on your accounts and transferring funds to tracking your transactions and making sure you haven’t been double charged, it enables you to do it all in one place. In addition, online banking lets you see your transactions in real time, and if any suspicious activity is detected, the bank will alert you immediately. In our busy lives, it just doesn’t get any better than this.

Account management: Online banking can facilitate business account management to help you view your financial statements straight away. It will provide you with your current information regarding your business’s financial status. All you need to do is pair your account information with accounting software programs, and this information will be readily available to you when you need it to file your taxes.

Go green: It is easy to go green with online banking, as both your business and the bank use less paper. With growing environmental concerns, you can contribute to a more eco-friendly approach towards the environment in a small way.

Online banking is beneficial and very convenient for small business owners, startups and budding entrepreneurs. It offers its clients two critical aspects of running a successful business: lower costs and increased accessibility. For maximum benefit, small business owners can use mobile apps such as OkCredit. It helps you run your business as smoothly as possible while keeping your data safe and putting your needs first.

Online banking users around the globe

Here are the statistics:

• Norway: 92%
• Denmark: 90%
• Finland: 87%
• Sweden: 86%
• U.K.: 68%
• U.S.A.: 67%
• India: 51%
• China: 42%
• Greece: 25%
• Bulgaria: 5%

Conclusion

This is the dawn of the digital era. Our best advice for online banking for small business owners is to embrace the new technology to increase your productivity and save both money and time.

Also Read:

1) How Does Professional Invoicing Help In Business Growth?
2) How to Start a Petrol Pump Dealership in India?
3) What Is an E-payment System?
4) Avoid these Payroll Compliance Mistakes

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FAQs

Q. What is online banking?

Ans. Online banking or e-banking enables you to manage your bank accounts at your convenience via your computer or mobile device.

Q. Is online banking safe?

Ans. It is completely safe as long as you are the only one who can access your account and you use it sensibly. Moreover, banks are constantly updating and improving their e-banking security systems to deal with any potential hacking attacks effectively. Furthermore, both protection and compensation are provided in case of any fraudulent activities or hacking issues.

Q. What are the risks of online banking?

Ans. There are a few risks for sure, but it is nothing that can be avoided by judiciously using and maintaining your accounts. The risks are:

a. You might fall victim to phishing, i.e., getting tricked into clicking a link in a text message or an email. This link is used to gather sensitive information such as usernames and passwords from your device.

b. Identity theft is another concern that's been worrisome as online banking requires your personal information, such as your ID card numbers and other identifying info. This can then be used to hack into your other accounts.

c. Pharming is quite common, even though it is a difficult process for hackers and scammers to carry out. Pharming happens when your bank’s URL has been hijacked. This refers to you getting redirected to a fake website instead of your bank website when you try to login. However, it looks the same as the real thing, but it is actually stealing your information.