Online banking already has several hundred thousand customers and is now an interesting alternative to traditional banks. Their rates are very attractive and their services offer some very interesting features (advisor availability times, mobile banking tools). Many bank comparators like
Bank4Pro for instance, allow you to evaluate, simply and quickly, your bank compared to the main online banks on the market.
Specialised advisers for specific financial products
In order to compensate for the lack of physical branches, online banks offer dedicated advisers who are specialists in their field. This technique of a dedicated adviser for each product range seems to be becoming widespread in traditional banks, given the large number of financial products offered to their customers!
Beyond day-to-day banking, an often comprehensive range of investments and services
In addition to day-to-day banking, online banks now offer some particularly competitive savings, insurance and credit products. Among the main financial products offered by online banks are :
- Life insurance;
- Mortgage loans;
- Savings books and super-books;
- Consumer credit;
- Property and casualty insurance products (car, home, etc.).
Online banks have been particularly innovative in recent years to compensate for the lack of proximity. Most of them have developed services such as :
- The electronic safe deposit box: the account holder can deposit copies of personal documents in complete security;
- Account aggregators: you can group all your accounts on the same application;
- SMS alert services;
- Spending and cash management simulators;
- The ability to reach an advisor via video conferencing.
While it is true that these types of services are particularly aimed at a young and trendy population, the advantages of online banking can satisfy a wide audience.
Views on online banking
The first quality of online banks is that they are much cheaper than traditional banks. If remote banks now represent between 4% and 10% of the market - about 3 million accounts all the same - their growth is exponential with an increase in the number of customers of more than 20% per year for the last 3 years.
Before taking the plunge towards online banking, we advise you to consider the following beforehand:
- Analyze and compare online banks in order to list - beyond your daily uses - the additional services you might need (credit, passbook, stock exchange?) ;
- Once you have drawn up your list, look at the "welcome offers". Many remote banks regularly offer €80 when you open your account, sometimes more;
- Once your online banking account is opened, and if you are comfortable with the 100% computerized management of your account, you can start considering complete banking mobility, by directing your savings or insurance products to your online bank.
Which online bank to choose?
To choose the right online bank, compare the rates and services of each one on our comparison tool. The best online bank is the one that offers you the services you actually use and at a competitive price.
Above and beyond the rate, be sure to check :
- The income requirements;
- The promotions when you open the account.