Entrepreneur Magazine
How to bank
The check's in the (e)mail

Hate the lines at your bank? Hate the lines at the ATM -- and those fees? Hate that your bank has closed down every branch within a 50-mile radius of your house? If you don't, you're either plain lucky or broke, with no banking needs, so maybe you'd better find a job.

At my bank, even if you go at 3 p.m., there's a huge line and you have to wait about a hundred years to actually talk to a teller. Then, when you get up there, she's behind this glass and you can barely hear what she's saying. Then it takes 400 more years to get your transaction done. So then you've finally got your travelers' checks but now you're 529 years old and you can't really go to Tanzania and scale Mt. Kilimanjaro anymore, so what's the point?

You know what I want? I want to get money on the Web. I don't ever want to have to go to the bank again. I want to press control-M and have moola shoot out through my floppy disk drive. (Might as well get some action out of those things.)

Although that's not quite possible, I can pay my bills, check my balance, transfer funds, and get my account statements online. I can also find the closest ATM, even in Tanzania. I can apply for a loan, a mortgage, a second mortgage, or a third. I can pretty much do everything I can at my real bank, except get actual coin and wait in line.

What about security? Well, if you can find an online bank that is FDIC-insured (and you can), you've got no worries. Besides that government-sanctioned assurance, several businesses employ additional security measures that are more effective than a rabid rottweiler. You can always call the bank in case of a mix-up.

But hey, if you've got plenty of time to waste and stepping toward the teller window is your only form of exercise, fine with me. While you're waiting in line at the bank, I'll be having a pint at the bar across the street, writing a novel, or having a scintillating conversation. Don't worry, I'll wave at you.

-- M. Trouble Sample

Here's How - Click for more!
Click for more!


Here's How - Click for more!
Kathryn M. McGrail tells how
to get it done on the Net:
How does online banking work?
How do I find online banks?
What fees are involved?
Do I need special software to bank online?
How does online banking and bill paying work?
Is online banking secure?

Snappy Picks

Get it done online
BankNet Electronic Banking Service
Bank Of America
BayBank
Chase Manhattan Bank
European Union Bank
NationsBank
Salem Five Cents Savings Bank
Security First Network Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank
Wells Fargo
Home Savings of America

Banks with online presence
Allied Irish Banks
Bank of Canada
Bank of England
Bank of Montreal
Banks of the World
BankWeb
Barclays
Central Bank of Brazil
Citicorp/Citibank
Deutsche Bank
Fuji Bank
South African Reserve Bank

Online banking resources
The Electronic Banker
Electronic Banking Resource Center
FINdex
Intuit
NetGuide Live's banking sites
VISA ATM Locator
WebATM
The World Bank Group


Go to full Snap Guide list

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