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Regularly monitor your current account to take charge of your finances.
Keep a close eye on your bank account activities because you can maximize the benefits offered by a current account, prevent possible fraud or errors, and minimize account fees.
Monitoring current account activities has become easier with technological improvements.
Online and mobile banking has allowed users to remotely monitor their accounts while minimizing costs.
While regularly monitoring your current account may seem demanding, especially with a busy schedule, the benefits are enormous. Here are the most important reasons to periodically monitor your current account.
According to the Home Office, identity fraud costs the UK economy over ÂŁ1.2 billion and has over 100,000 victims. Fraud losses on UK-issued cards amounted to ÂŁ566 million in 2017.
Most of the time, a thief may make small test purchases after obtaining your debit card and will make larger purchases if the test is successful.
Debit card fraud protection isn’t as strong as credit cards, so it’s important to immediately report any suspicious behaviour on your account.
One method of protection to help lower the chances of fraud is to use Protective Registration. Cifas is a leading fraud prevention network and is partnered with the UK government. Cifas stores the personal details of registered users in a safe national database and ensures that companies who need to access this data take extra steps to protect it, reducing identity theft chances.
If unauthorized payments are made using your credit card, you are protected by the Consumer Credit Act. If your debit card is stolen, you can be liable for the first ÂŁ50 spent.
However, banks may refuse to reimburse your stolen money if they believe you have been negligent with your account’s security. If proven, you would be liable for all the losses. Still, it is not usually easy for banks to prove negligence on the part of users.
Your bank can also refuse you a refund if you inform them of an unauthorized transaction 13 months after it occurred.
Some banks have high fees, such as overdraft or returned payment fees.
Sometimes, overdraft fees are reasonable, but the overdraft interest rate can range between 15% to 40% annually. This rate varies from bank to bank.
Other fees to pay attention may include:
These can translate to a substantial amount when accumulated with other accounts held by the same person. Spotting these fees earlier through regular monitoring can help save some amount at the end of the year.
According to an RSA report, 43% of the UK workers don’t have anyone in their household to fall back on in case of financial hardship, and 41% have less than £1,000 in savings.
By watching your account balance, you can maintain some extra cash in your account as an emergency fund. You can also track your spending and identify areas to cut back expenses and save better.
There is no general frequency to monitor your account – what may be enough for one account holder may not be enough for another holder. But monitoring your account once a month is not enough to protect you from fraud, fees, or aligning your finances.
Start by logging into your account once or twice weekly. Within no time, you will be logging into your bank account to monitor debits or credits posted daily. It’s about building a habit.
When reviewing your account, look for unrecognized transactions. Also, confirm if your deposits, mainly through checks, have been posted. Take a look at your recent purchases to confirm expenses and any other fees.
Check your information, your email, and phone numbers to make sure they are up to date. Use a unique password and change it regularly to lock out thieves.
Here are some tips to easily monitor your current account:
Logging into your account is the most basic way to monitor your account. You can easily view your balance as well as all your transactions.
If you are too busy or you forget to log into your account daily, you can use a more automated approach that will make it easy for you to monitor your account.
One example is adding notifications to your calendar to remind you.
Most banks have mobile applications or have designed their websites for mobile users to view their account activities easily.
If your bank app is not what you want, get a third-party mobile budgeting app such as Money Dashboard. This app is usually handy as you can link multiple current accounts, savings accounts, and credit card accounts to the same app. You can monitor all your account transactions easily.
If manually monitoring your current account is difficult, you can sign up for alerts, and your bank will be pushing information when activity happens in your account.
You will be receiving text or email for every withdrawal, deposit, returned payment, low account balance, and so much more. With alerts, it is easier to monitor your account since you will be waiting to hear from your bank in case of activity.
Regularly going through your online account statement can help identify unusual trends that may be fraudulent. You may also find errors committed and correct them early with your bank. You may sign up to receive paper statements. Most banks, however, charge a fee for the paper statement.
Give your bank a call if you need an update on your account balance or clarification on some account activities. Banks will have an automated system to answer your account balance queries. You will need to speak with a representative for other reasons concerning your account. Call your bank during working hours to talk with a person.
ATMs provide accurate account balance information. You should know how to differentiate between the total account balance and the available balance, which will be displayed in your ATM.
The total account balance is the total amount in your account before any pending transaction. In contrast, the available balance is the amount you can withdraw or spend right away and includes pending transactions. The transactions that are delayed will include withdrawals and deposits into the account.
Also, to avoid ATM fees, use your bank’s ATM instead of out-of-network machines because they usually charge a fee when you check your account balance.
If you’re a client at a brick-and-mortar bank, you can speak to the bank teller concerning your account. Most banks discourage personal visits and even charge a fee to access personal services. Credit unions with shared branching networks have thousands of branches and will readily offer personal assistance to their account holders.
It is best to access your account using the self-service methods described. You will be more save time by monitoring your account on the internet instead of visiting your branch.
Monitoring your account will help reduce the chances of fraud and stay ahead of your finances.
Take advantage of automated methods like mobile apps and alerts that will help you have all your account information at your fingertips.
What do you think is the best way to monitor a current account? Which method are you using to monitor yours?
Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below!
