by Alicia Holman

Created on: July 25, 2008

From day to day, my bank account balance may vary, but one thing I can be sure of is the ease of use of my bank's online banking system. I am currently a member of Bank of America where I keep both my checking and savings accounts. Over the years, I have found that the online banking system put forth by Bank of America is one of great ease and efficiency. Lets take a closer look at the features, how they work, and why they make banking easier with Bank of America.

SECURITY

Today keeping my money safe is extremely important. But I refuse to sacrifice security for convenience when online banking, and Bank of America doesn't expect me to. This is why they have several safety features in place to protect my money from the wrong hands. First, the log in process proves to be a successful measure. When visiting the home page for online banking with Bank of America, I am asked to enter my ID number. For those who bank with Bank of America, this number is a familiar one. Then I am taken to a page that will verify a graphic I have chosen and labeled known as a site key and also ask for my password. If I do not recognize the site key, I am urged not to enter my password. If I do recognize the site key, I can rest assured that I am on Bank of America's protected network.

Another security feature that has come in handy many times in my case is the emphasis that Bank of America puts on how they communicate with me. Within the banking system, I am provided with a message center where secure interactions can happen between Bank of America and myself. This helps me to spot the fraudulent email messages that come through to my email requesting I sign on and verify personal information. DO NOT follow those links or put your personal information in as requested. Bank of America will never ask for that kind of information via email. If you do get one of those emails, it is a phish email and can be reported back to Bank of America.

BILL PAY

I absolutely love this feature on Bank of America's online banking system. At the beginning of each month, I have my bills ready to be sent out with a few clicks of the mouse. With the Bill Pay, I can add all my companies that I owe money to along with my account numbers. The idea is that I will tell Bank of America how much to pay this company and by what date, and Bank of America will take care of sending the payment via check. I usually plan my bills mid month and use the handy display total button that allows me to see my total amount of money

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