Importance of Mobile Banking and How To Do It Safely?

Mobile banking is a part of internet banking that is conducted through mobile phones. This system has eased the lives of people, saving them time, money and extra effort. Al; they need is a smartphone and a stable internet connection. You have the entire bank in your control through a single mobile application. This article will help you understand about mobile banking and how you can have a safe user experience.

Before discussing the importance of mobile banking, we must know about this service.

Table of Contents

1. About Mobile banking
2. Importance
3. How is Mobile Banking Helping Financial Institutions?
4. Disadvantages
5. Safe user habits

About Mobile Banking

Mobile banking system gained popularity during the peak of COVID-19 when it was impossible to visit public places. During that phase of the pandemic, everything was going digital which made the use of mobile banking services inevitable. Prior to the introduction of this, SMS banking was prevalent in most countries. Even at present, several banks offer both SMS and mobile banking to their customers. 

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Importance of Mobile Banking

This digital system is now used by all of us and has a number of benefits. In this section, we will discuss the reasons that add to the importance of mobile banking. Let us get started.

1. 24 x 7 banking services

This is one of the biggest benefits of mobile banking. As a bank customer, you may have an urgent need for transferring or withdrawing money. This is where digital services like mobile banking play a huge role. There is no need to visit the bank branch, wait in long queues or delay an urgent transaction. You can do that instantly through your mobile phone. You can even do bill payments anytime. 

2. Instant Transactions

Instant transactions are one of the biggest plus points of this type of banking. If you rely on visiting the bank branch, you will be unable to conduct urgent transactions outside bank hours. You can instantly transfer funds at any time of the day regardless of day and night or bank holidays. 

3. Availability of all banking services

Through mobile banking, you can avail yourself of almost every banking service. You do not need to visit the bank branch. For instance, you can transfer money, make payments, create an FD in seconds, pay bills and get your bank statements through this service. These features are so easily available that most of us can use them without help.

4. Breaks the linguistic barrier

Mobile apps of many financial institutions are available in multiple languages. This makes it easier for most people to perform mobile banking on their own. This reduces any confusion that you would otherwise face. These multilingual banking apps make the country more banking centric as the rural population is also actively using them.

5. Improved security in Mobile Banking Apps

These applications tighten security through features like multiple pins, face id, fingerprint lock and multi-factor authentication. Through these security features, your bank accounts become more secure against thefts. In case your phone gets lost or stolen, banks offer the facility to disable the application remotely. Some banks even allow you to share location to detect the location of fraud. 

6. Better control of finances

Through mobile banking, you can always keep a check on your finance. You can monitor your expenditure and prevent overspending. This can be a part of your budget planning. Over time, you will become better at financial management and save more money.

7. Better Support

Banks offer customer care services that help confused customers in using the app. Customers can call, chat or email their queries to the support team. You can report fraudulent transactions and get your debit card blocked during suspicious transactions. 

How is Mobile Banking Helping Financial Institutions?

Mobile banking is a secure and remote method of banking that is not only helping customers but also financial institutions. Let us discuss the ways in which mobile banking is helping out financial institutions.

1. Makes the system secure: The banking system becomes more secure with biometric security features such as face id, fingerprint lock and voice recognition. This prevents illegal access to the system so that only authorized bank holders can access their accounts.
2. Less burden on employees: As more operations in the banking system are becoming digitalized, employees need to do less work. This in turn, enhances their efficiency and makes them more productive.
3. Saving funds: With the inclusion of technologies like blockchain, ML and AI, banks are able to save money by investing lesser in resources. Features like AI-enabled chatbots reduce the requirement of customer care professionals.

Disadvantages of Mobile Banking

While discussing the importance of mobile banking, we cannot overlook some disadvantages of this service. Let us discuss the disadvantages of mobile banking services. 

1. Heavily dependent on the internet

You cannot use these services in areas where there is extremely weak connectivity or altogether no connectivity. This is one of the biggest drawbacks of this service. In such areas, branch banking is the best option.

2. Handset based service usage

For such services, you must have a smartphone. Many services work efficiently on certain smartphone models. In certain models, an updated version might not be available. This is a drawback of this service.

3. Not suitable for the illiterate population

The illiterate population cannot use the service since it is an application that requires basic literacy skills. For such people, branch banking facility or a relationship manager is a better choice.

3. Prone to cyber threat

Mobile banking applications are prone to breaches since it is based on the internet. Due to this, it can be breached by an expert hacker and it can put your bank account at risk. To ensure safe mobile banking, enable add-on security checks and prevent sharing details with anyone.

Practices For Safer User Experience

For a safe experience, you must adopt the following healthy practices:

1. Do not share the pin, password or user name of your mobile application. 
2. Enable multi-factor authentication and fingerprint lock to secure your mobile banking app.
3. Never write down your credentials since they can be read by anyone. 
4. Always log out of the application once you are done checking account balances or any other online banking activity.
5. Never give your details to anyone even if someone from the bank asks for details such as ATM PIN. Banks never ask for your OTP or ATM PIN.
6. Immediately report any suspicious banking activity to your bank.
7. If you suspect that you are in the middle of fraud, immediately turn off your data or wifi. 
8. Instantly block your card if a fraudulent transaction takes place.
9. Never click on any links or download any third-party applications since these can breach the security of your phone. 

Mobile banking is a very efficient method of banking since it saves you time and effort. Through such services, you can almost do every bank-related activity on your own. Overall, it reduces your dependency on anyone else and gives you better control over your finances. Through safe practices, you can gain a lot from this digital service. Hope you have now learnt about the importance of mobile banking!