E-banking is a service offered by banks to their customers so they can access their account through an electronic device with an Internet connection.
Through e-banking, the customers can send remittances, pay bills, check their card balance and much more, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
E-banking is so popular that many banks do not have physical branches at all.
This is something that the older generations might view with suspicion, but younger, tech-savvy ones will appreciate the services offered and the low or no transaction fees.
Any self-respecting bank, should have certifications from international or national organizations that mainly concern deposit protection.
Otherwise, in the event of bankruptcy, the customer risks losing their deposits.
For example in Greece, the deposit & investment guarantee fund (TEKE) covers deposits up to 100,000 euros for the following Greek banks
National Bank of Greece, www.nbg.gr
Alpha Bank, www.alpha.gr
Eurobank (Eurobank), www.eurobank.gr
Piraeus Bank, www.piraeusbank.gr
Attica Bank, www.atticabank.gr
Optima Bank, www.optimabank.gr
Aegean Baltic Bank, www.aegeanbalticbank.com
Vivabank SA, www.viva.bank
Pancreta Bank, www.pancretabank.gr
Cooperative Bank of Epirus, www.epirusbank.com
Cooperative Bank of Chania, www.chaniabank.gr
Cooperative Bank of Thessaly, www.bankofthessaly.gr
Cooperative Bank of Karditsa, www.bankofkarditsa.com.gr
Cooperative Bank of Central Macedonia, www.syntraser.gr
This means that in case of failure of one of the above banks, the depositor has nothing to fear, as long as his account has not been inactive for the last 24 months, the total amount of deposits does not exceed 100,000 euros (any funds that exceed 100.000 euros, are unlikely to be recovered), the money is not tied up by the Greek government or they are in the banks safe-box.
Advantages of e-banking
24 hour access all year round.
Speed and ease of transactions.
Access from wherever you are, from a compatible electronic device.
Low costs of transactions and services.
Better control of your bank account.
Of course it would be impossible to cover all the advantages as the online services offered differ from bank to bank.
Disadvantages of e-banking
It does not work without an internet connection.
Your account is vulnerable to online scams.
Many times, the communication with the banks representative through the application is incomplete or slow.
Summarizing
With e-banking, you save time and money. But you should emphasize your security, initially by discussing the possible risks with your bank as well as the ways to protect your account.
We advise you not to log in to your bank’s e-banking from the website of your electronic device but from your bank’s application that you will find in the Google play store or the Apple app store.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be an employee of the bank (even if they know your personal information or the phone number that is calling you is from the bank), an email or text message asking you to log in to your account or to in various actions, no matter how plausible they are, ignore them and call your bank as soon as possible, ideally from another device.
