1. What is a Bank?
A bank is an establishment that holds money in deposits for safekeeping makes loans to the public and other businesses, exchanges currency, and transmits funds both domestically and internationally. The four major types of banks are commercial banks, savings institutions (or thrifts), credit unions/Caisses Populaires, and investment banks.
2. Why banks are important?
Banks are important and vital to the economy of every country. They perform a lot of different tasks that can affect you or even benefit you depending on what type of bank it is and what they specialize in. Here we will cover all four major types of banks and their main functions: commercial, investment, savings/thrift, as well as credit unions/Caisses Populaires.
3. The different types of online banks?
There are many different types of banks:
1. Chase Bank:
Chase Bank is a consumer bank and has branches in 19 states of the USA. It offers online savings accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, and home loans to its customers at low rates. You can also get car insurance at discounted rates by applying for it along with an auto loan.
2. Capital One 360:
The bank has an award-winning website that is easy to use and gives you access to 100% of your money in its interest-bearing account with no fees whatsoever. You can also link your savings accounts to external accounts and transfer funds easily.
3. Citibank:
Citibank offers a range of products to its customers under personal & business banking. It provides online services for bill payments, transferring money, and opening checking or saving accounts.
4. USAA:
USAA is a leading bank that serves the military community through its branches in the USA as well as serving overseas citizens who serve the nation. The bank provides auto loans, home loans, credit cards, and checking accounts.
5. Barclays:
Barclays is one of the top online banks offering savings accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, and personal loans to its customers. You can also open an IRA account with them for retirement planning.
6. HSBC Direct:
HSBC offers free online bank services which are similar to a savings account. You can earn interest on your bank balance and use it anywhere in the world as per the global ATM MasterCard provided by them.
7. Ally Bank:
Ally Bank provides a high yield rate of return on your deposit with its online saving account, money market accounts & CDs (certificate of deposit).
8. Discover Bank:
This Discover bank offers its customers the benefits of FDIC and has a great online site that provides secure access to your account and detailed information on every product it provides you.
9. Charles Schwab Bank:
This Charles Schwab bank has won the best retail brokerage award for 13 consecutive years from Barron’s Magazine. You can also get high yield rates with secured credit cards from the same company.
10. Wells Fargo:
Wells Fargo is another leading bank in the USA providing checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards & personal loans. You can also get car insurance provided by them at very low rates.
11. TD Bank:
TD Bank is one of the leading banks in the USA and provides online services for checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs (certificate of deposit), credit cards, and auto loans.
12. Bank of America:
Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the USA and provides online services for checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards & CD (certificate of deposit).
4. Advantages of online Banks?
There are many advantages of online banks:
No or low fees:
The biggest advantage of online banking is the lack of a need for a physical branch. Most banks provide their services online with no maintenance cost, thus passing on the benefits to customers in terms of lower fees. Be online from anywhere at any time.
High-interest rates:
Another good thing about most online banks is that their savings accounts pay higher interest rates. Thus if you don’t mind keeping your money in the account for a longer time, you can make some extra money by opting for an online savings account.
Easy to open an account:
It’s very easy to open an account with online banks as compared to traditional brick & mortar branches. You can apply for an account online, fill out the required forms online, and complete your application by paying the fees online. Everything is done over the internet with no manual intervention involved thus saving time and money on everyone’s part.
Virtually no wait times:
This is another good thing about online banks, it takes very little time to process your requests unlike opening an account in a traditional bank where you need to wait for days (or weeks) to open an account. The transfer of funds from one account to another takes place in real-time so you get the money transferred very quickly.
Electronic statements:
It’s easy to stay on top of your accounts with electronic statements sent directly to your email address or mobile phone number. You can easily keep track of every payment that you make, when it was made and how much was paid. You can also opt for paperless statements that don’t cost anything extra to save trees and reduce your carbon footprint.
Secure:
Online banking is very secure than traditional brick & mortar banks. Your money is kept in FDIC insured online bank which you need not worry about because it’s absolutely safe and secure even if the bank goes bankrupt.
24*7 customer services:
Online banking is more customer-friendly as compared to traditional brick & mortar branches where you need to spend more time and money on your banking needs at a particular time of the day. You can access your account anytime from anywhere whether it’s a neighborhood branch or a neighborhood ATM; online banks provide you round-the-clock services from their websites so you can get your transactions done at any time of the day.
