Mobile Banking

Mobile banking refers to the use of a smartphone or other cellular device to perform online banking tasks while away from your home computer, such as monitoring account balances, transferring funds between accounts, bill payment and locating an ATM.

Users need to first register and verify their phone numbers with their bank, but once that's completed, they can also set up alerts to let them know about negative balances or deposit confirmations. Mobile web is the second mobile banking option. Similar to online account access from a home-based computer, this option allows for checking balances, bill payment and account transfers simply by logging into the user's account via a mobile web browser. Mobile banking applications for Android, iPhone and Blackberry, connect the user directly to the bank server for complete banking functionality without having to navigate a mobile web browser.

These applications can be downloaded either through the bank's website or through the iTunes store. Some banks are taking the technology one step further with account rewards confirmation, person-to-person payments (P2P) and, more importantly, remote deposit capture (RDC) capability. Simply put, RDC is a service allowing users to scan checks and transmit the scanned images to a bank for posting and clearing. In the case of mobile banking, a customer takes pictures of both sides of a check and forwards the photos to the bank, which then deposits the funds in the same way as if the deposit was made through a teller. RDC capability means customers have faster access to their money, while automating yet another deposit feature.