Advances in technology and the development of the Internet are changing the way people transfer money. With all these technological developments, moving money is simpler than before. Earlier, transferring money meant a visit to the bank. But that is no longer needed as there are various technologies in play to make money transfer easy and convenient.
Alternative Payment Services: Several websites allow you to transfer money through email, eliminating the need to reveal your bank account and credit card information online. Although online transfers have wide online security and fraud-prevention measures, they are not foolproof. Complaints like phishing scams, hacked accounts and identity theft are quite common.
Donation Texts: The use of text messages to transfer money became popular, when the American Red Cross used this technology to raise over $22 million in hurricane relief fund for Haiti. On the flip side, this technology is risky and scammers misuse this tool by asking people to text money to illegitimate numbers. Always check the organization’s website to confirm that the number you are texting is associated with the cause are supporting.
Bumping Phones: Mobile phones are fast replacing the wallet and on-the-go digital money transfers are becoming commonplace. Now, you can send and receive money by just bumping Smartphones together. Technologies include Bluetooth and near field communication (NFC, a set of procedures that allow Smartphones to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them close to each other at a distance of 10 cm or less). Though, the risk of unauthorised payments from a stolen phone is yet to completely be addressed.
Remote Deposit: This technology allows you to deposit cheques from anywhere. Many Smartphone applications allow you to take a photo of the front and back of a cheque and download it into your account. While this process is secure, there may be concerns about the consequences if the phone is stolen or if financial information is intercepted. The remote cheques are not stored on the phone, and the data is encoded as it goes from the mobile phone to the bank’s computer system.
Mobile Magnetic Stripe Readers: These are small scanners that can be attached to Smartphones. Busy individuals, can just swipe credit cards on the scanner and the money is transferred.
Money transfer technologies are a definite and smart way to save time and energy when conducting financial transactions. The ideal way to protect your money is to research and choose the best option that is safe and one that will fit your needs.
