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Bank of America Online Banking Offers Convenient Features for Consumers

America Online, Bank of America, Online Banking

The ease of use and functionality of Bank of America Online Banking has kept me a customer for years. The many features and functions available offer security and convenience for it’s customers.

Enrolling is very easy. If you are a current Bank of America customer, you can enroll in Online Banking with your social security number and account number. From the Bank of America website, you simply go to the Online Banking area, where you will be prompted to enter the state the account was opened in and what type of account it is. You will enter your information and create an ID and password. Bank of America has a Sitekey function that offers additional security. You choose a picture that will display when you go to sign in. If the picture displayed when you are signing in after enrollment is correct, you know you are signing in to an official Bank of America website You can also enroll at your bank if you feel more comfortable having a bank representative help you or if you would like to open an account. You can open accounts online also.

The features of Bank of America Online Banking are numerous. With direct deposit, I rarely have to visit the bank in person. You can manage all of your Bank of America accounts from one location. Once you are signed in, you can view transactions, view cleared checks, see all of your balances, transfer money between your accounts, download statements to your computer. Quicken and Microsoft Money are supported by Bank of America Online Banking and you can download your statements directly to your computer for easy account balancing.

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Online Bill Pay is one of the best features. You can view all the bills you need to pay in a convenient list which shows the last payment dates and amounts you paid. You choose how much to send to each payee and the payments are made without the need of writing and mailing out checks. Much faster and safer than sending payment through the mail You choose who to pay from a list of payees, or you can add one that is not listed. The money is pulled out of the Bank of America account you have specified. You can even choose to receive paperless statements from your payees to eliminate unnecessary clutter and conserve paper usage.

Bank of America offers a free financial management tool to track all your expenditures, calculate your net worth and more. With My Portfolio you can create a budget online, see transactions by category; all in easy to read graphs and charts. Set budget amounts by category and track how you are doing towards your goals with the reports and graphs.

You can receive alerts to your email or mobile device about your balances, suspicious card activity, or any number of other options that you can choose from your Bank of America Online Banking screen.

With a cell or smart phone, you can take advantage of Mobile Banking. Receive account information and manage your accounts while on the go.

Costs of online banking are almost nonexistent. There is no monthly service charge for accessing linked accounts, paying and receiving bills and online banking services. Fees may apply for additional services that you request. Stopping payments and requesting copies of checks are among these. Fees may be taken for things like non-sufficient funds and overdrafts. Personal financial management programs that are used to access Online Banking with Bill Pay service have a charge of $9.95 per month for consumer accounts and $14.95 for business customers.

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You can opt for added security for your account once you are enrolled in Bank of America Online Banking by taking advantage of their Safe Pass feature. You receive a 6 digit pass code that is sent to your mobile phone as a text message, ensuring that only you can receive it. This is free, and offers protection against fraud and identity theft. You will also get higher transfer limits when using Safe Pass. This is used in addition to sitekey.

Mac users can access Bank of America Online Banking using one of three browsers. Safari 1.0 (for OS 10 only), Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, and Netscape 6.2 and higher. Web Connect allows Mac users to download their account information from Online Banking directly to Quicken software from Intuit. Further details can be obtained online about using your Mac with Online Banking.

Bank of America Online Banking is available twenty four hours a day, every day. It is safe and convenient and the only downfall I have ever experienced was when I transferred money onto my credit card instead of to my checking account. It took over a week to resolve but was created purely out of my own error. There have been reports of slow loading due to graphics while using a dial up connection.

Sources:

Bank of America, Online Banking Information

Bank of America, Using Your Mac with Online Banking

Bank of America, Mobile Banking