Managing Your Money Online

With the birth of the internet and smart phones and the society that we now live in where everyone is perpetually connected to the internet, there has developed a demand for internet banking. This means wherever you are in the world you can check your bank balance, pay your bills and generally make any alterations you may need to, via the internet with great ease. This is a brilliant tool that millions of people make use of everyday because it also allows for the exchange of money on a personal level as well as business.

However, as with anything there is always an opposite. For every positive there is a negative and in this instance that is that our bank accounts are also at a greater risk of being hacked. Online banking has given rise to the phenomena of ‘identity theft’ where either people or in some cases just computers, gain access to your account and use your money to make purchases. Hardly what you wanted was it?

Well the good news is that there are ways to prevent this from happening to you. Firstly, avoid using your mobile phone and other mobile devices to access your account. Regardless of how cautious you are, there will always be a risk of you having it stolen or you misplacing it and if this were to happen and all of your details are stored on the device, the thief or finder can use all of these details. Secondly, regularly changing your password and other log in information will make your account more secure and prevent computers that trawl through the internet looking for accounts to hack from finding yours.

Also be aware of both leaving your account logged in on your personal laptop and logging in on laptops that are used by several people. The first of these examples is fine largely but there is always a risk, it might sound extreme but how much worse would it be if your laptop was stolen and all of your bank details were available to the thief as well. The second example of logging in on public laptops means that anyone can access the laptop and all of the information on it so it is not worth running the risk of logging into your bank account.

For more information on how to manage your money online and keep yourself safe from hackers, visit www.ezine.co.uk.

Banking Customer Services

Now, if there was ever an establishment that demanded exceptional customer service it was banks. At first the connotations that derive from the phrase ‘customer service’ all surround a similar image – a company and their employees doing all they can to ensure a customer’s satisfaction with their visit to the business. This is taken one step further when transferred into the realms of banks.

Much like parents with their children, people with their money are unique and particular. Everyone has a slightly different opinion on the best way to keep their money or invest it and so on but basically everyone has a bank and everyone wants their money guaranteed to be there when they wish to withdraw it. This is incorporated into the umbrella of customer service – anything that includes dealing with a customer and/or their possessions is integral to customer service and certain standards of this service must be adhered to.

Banks are more than banks as well, you put your trust in them to undertake any dealings with your money – whether it is to send, receive or retain it – but you also trust them to advise you with things such as credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, home, car and contents insurance therefore they need to prove themselves to be trustworthy.

Since the invention of the cash machine – yet another example of a modern invention that has removed the need for a human to communicate with another human – it is rare in this day and age that people spend much time in banks speaking with the employees, but when they do it is vital that they receive high customer service. The way the high street has gone is that most of the shops all offer very similar products and services but with a slightly different, unique edge that tries to out-do the other shops; this is exactly the same for banks. As was previously stated, the vast majority of people have a bank and with there being a certain number of banks on the high street, the level of customer service has to be exceptionally high to beat the other competition.

The implications of poor customer service in the banking world are much greater than just losing customers. Not only does a loss of customers mean a dent in the bank’s reputation which will lead to more customers leaving or not choosing to join, it can also result in legal implications. If a bank makes a fatal mistake with customers’ money they are within their rights to take legal proceedings in order to relinquish these funds.

For more information on the customer service offered by banks, contact Lloyds TSB.