The Benefits of Online Banking

What are the three greatest things about the Internet? E-mail, music, and online banking!

Whether for the convenience or the control, online banking is an aspect of banking that nobody can resist. Our children will probably laugh when we tell them people used to actually go to a bank to pay bills.

Online banking rocks!

Many of the benefits of doing your banking online are obvious:

• You don't have to wait in line.
• You don't have to plan your day around the bank's hours.
• You can look at your balance whenever you want, not just when you get a statement.

There are some hidden benefits too. As a young bank customer, you're just learning how to manage your money and observe your spending patterns.

• Online banking allows you to watch your money on a daily basis if you want to. By keeping close tabs on your funds, you'll always be aware of what's happening in your bank account.
• For those experienced spenders, this option is far more appealing than the sudden discovery that you're broke!
• It's also helpful to watch how much interest you're gathering on investments and savings or what service charges you have incurred.

Getting started

If you want to try out online banking without committing, select the Online Banking link on the left side of this page and check out the View Demo feature. The Demo allows you to sample the available services, like viewing your balance or paying bills. You don't have to register in any way, so it's a good way to check it out first before signing up.

Once you register, you'll have the choice of doing just basic banking and viewing your balance or doing more involved transactions like bill payments and transfers. The choice is yours. It really depends on how you like to bank.

You will get a confirmation number after each transaction and you can always check the session summary to see what you've done. If you make a mistake, customer service is always available at 1-888-872-2422.

What to expect

Here are some of the features available through online banking:

• View balances: Checking your balance doesn't require much work. You simply select Account balances and take a look at your balance and past transactions. If you have more than one account, you can also do transfers between accounts.
• Pay bills: To pay your bills online, you just need to add to your account the names of the companies you wish to pay bills to. In the Pay Bills section, select Add payees, search for the name of the company and fill in the account number for each company. You can also sign up for the ebills service from epost, a service that sends you a bill by email instead of a printed one by regular mail.
• Transfer funds: When you select Transfer Funds, you'll be asked where to transfer the money to and from, when, and the amount.
• Set up recurring bill payments or transfers: If you make a regular payment every month, it might be convenient to set up an automatic withdrawal from your account.
• Monitor CIBC investments: If you have any CIBC investments, you can keep an eye on those stocks or mutual funds here.
• Send and receive an INTERAC e-Transfer^TM2: This could be the end of the birthday cheque! You can receive transfers from other people's accounts, or set up transfers from your account to someone else's. The recipient will get an e-mail notifying them of the transaction.
• View CIBC VISA* accounts: Always a good place to monitor your spending. You can make your credit card payments online, right from your account.
• Order cheques: We don't need them much anymore due to online banking and debit purchases, but if you still use cheques, you can order them directly from the CIBC website.

Take control

Online banking helps you become more of a banker, running your accounts like a small business that you control every day. Once you get started, you'll be hooked. Soon enough you'll be checking your bank account as often as your e-mail.