Mobile Banking Using Your Cellphone

There are more and more things that can be done using a cellphone these days. It's not just for personal and business communication anymore; cellphones take and store pictures, email, text, and do many of the tasks that a desktop computer with an internet connection can do. Now, you can also use your cellphone to do your banking.

Once you sign up with your bank's online banking service, you should be able to get a mobile account. Usually, you use the same username and password with your mobile account as you do with your regular online account.

Some of the pros to online banking with your cellphone are:

- Convenience
It can't be argued that banking from your cellphone is convenient. You can do your banking almost anywhere, any time.

- Checking your balance
Especially helpful for debit card users, being able to check your balance immediately before and after a purchase is an attractive feature of mobile banking.

- No more late fees
Paying your bills online is convenient, but paying by mobile phone takes it a step further. What if you are on your way out of town and remember a bill that will be late if you wait to pay it when you get back? You can pay your bill via cellphone in minutes.

- Save gas
How often do you have to go out of your way to stop at the bank, or drive around looking for an ATM? Some mobile financial software, such as TextHog, will direct you to the nearest ATM.

There are also some negative aspects to consider with mobile banking.

- Cell signals are not everywhere
There are definitely areas where there is no cellphone signal, which can be quite frustrating if you need to get a transaction done right away.

- Small size
Trying to read tiny words and press tiny buttons can be difficult. The iPhone has an all-screen design that makes it the largest known cellphone screen to date. Other companies may pattern their designs after the iPhone, and this will become less of a problem.

- Security
There is some concern that mobile bankers' information is not secure as it goes from customer to bank, and cellphones are often lost or stolen.

If security is a concern, or if you like a more hands-on approach to tracking your finances, you might consider using TextHog. This software allows you to tag, organize and track your finances manually, not unlike a paper checkbook. You can also generate spending reports with TextHog. Since you will not have financial institutions updating your finances automatically, you don't need to give out as much information.

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