Internet banking is increasingly replacing or supplementing traditional methods of banking. This type of service consists of providing the customer with access to their account and the ability to perform operations using web browsers, GSM phones, and landline phones. The scope of these services, depending on the software used and the bank’s strategy, can be very broad. Worldwide, tens of millions of users are already using this form of banking. So, what is the situation like in our own backyard? In Poland, 20 banks already offer their customers electronic access to their accounts, so there is plenty to choose from. However, before we decide on any of the wide range of offers, we must carefully examine the individual products, as they differ significantly from each other, both in terms of the number of access channels and financial benefits (interest rates, fees). The choice is therefore not easy, but it should be noted at the outset that we will not find one single best, so-called “universal” account that is attractive in terms of finances and offers a great many possibilities. A few years ago, internet banks tempted their customers with very attractive interest rates on funds accumulated in the account, which reached 16.5 percent per annum. Today the situation has changed, however, the best banks like mBank, Lukas Bank, or Fortis Bank have account interest rates in the range of 2-5.3 percent. However, at the moment, it is not the interest rate on deposits or the account that should determine the choice of a given bank, but the functionality of our e-account.
What every account has or should have…
First and foremost, one should pay special attention to what every account should offer us as so-called “standard equipment”. Basic services primarily include: a savings and checking account, the ability to open a deposit and take out a loan without the need to visit a branch, the ability to define single transfers and execute them, and to define so-called standing orders, which, once set up, will be executed automatically in the future on a strictly defined date. These account features are present in all the most important and noteworthy banks on the Polish market.
The article comes from the magazine “e-Fakty” 3/2005.