Secure online banking

Summary: Article that takes a look at the history of banking and how safe it has become over the years.

Banking has always been a big part of our lives and will probably be forever. Banking dates back to the ancient times; the earliest banks were the ancient religious temples. Citizens then stored their gold coins and other valuable belongings in the temples because these places were strongly built, were always guarded, and most of all, were sacred. In ancient Greece, temples were also the place where financial transactions and credit notes were already being used to reduce risks in carrying and carting money to different places. Since those times, banking evolved in many aspects. Banking regulations were formulated, additional services such as lending became part of banking and things such as adding interest to loans became common bank practices. Now with the latest technology and the Internet, banking has taken a new dimension. People can now access bank account online and transact business with the bank with more convenience and security through the Internet. Online Banking Performing bank transactions through the Internet is generally referred to as online banking or Internet banking. This form of banking allows consumers to directly access their bank account online (usually savings account) and obtain any information about their accounts .This direct-to-consumer system is quicker and more convenient for consumers compared to traditional banking systems. Especially if you are to withdraw money after banking hours or do transfers from the comfort of your own home, this banking system may be your easiest and sole solution. All you need to do is connect to the Internet trough your personal computer and access your bank account instantly. Online-only banks Most of the popular banks offer online banking as one of their services; however there are also some banks that transact businesses exclusively online, so you have no other choice but to access your bank account online and avail of other bank services through the Internet. The latter are referred to as online-only banks. These banks virtually exist yet they provide services traditional banks offer only that they are done through the Internet. Benefits Today as life is more time consuming than ever people in using the Internet in several ways, including getting access to their bank account online, online-only banks proved to be more convenient and beneficial. Aside from the fast transactions, one may also profit from the bank's high interest rates and generally cheaper transaction fees considering that online-only banks operate only online. Cost of processing bank transactions is lower so the bank can afford to give consumers high interest rates on savings account and cheaper transactions. Online Banking Industry Although Internet is being used a lot, online-only banking industry began to develop only sometime in 2000 when a popular online bank devised much simpler and more convenient banking transactions online and paid consumers higher interest rates. From the earliest banks that tried this form of banking did not succeed because of their expensive transaction fees and lower interest rates. However, procedures in getting access to bank accounts online were more complicated and consumers were afraid of Internet fraud and internet scams. The industry eventually grew bigger and more stable middle 2004 as the use of the Internet got more and more trusted, prevalent and secure .Banking will never be the same and will never look back again.