subject: A Brief Introduction To Online Money Transfer [print this page] Banking today offers many convenient features that did not exist in the past. One of the most important of these is online money transfer. Let's take a look at what this is and how it can help the banking customer.
Suppose you have a checking account and a savings account at your bank. You want to buy a present and pay for it with a check. There isn't enough money in your checking account to cover the check, but you do have money in savings. All you have to do is move some money from your savings account into your checking account.
People used to do this by going to their local bank branch and asking someone there to make the transfer. Another way to do this is to call the bank and request the transfer over the phone. When neither of these is convenient, online money transfer is probably the way to go. It is certainly cheaper for the bank than either of the alternatives.
Most banks have web sites that are available to customers for inquiries and transactions on their accounts. When you are logged in to this site, you can basically fill in a form specifying amount, where the money is coming from, and where it is going to, and the bank will do the transfer for you.
The transfer will probably happen right away, so that the funds will be available to you immediately. Make sure to check the web page for messages about this, as it is conceivable that in some circumstance there may be a delay before the money is available in the receiving account. Banks usually don't charge for this, but check the web page for information to the contrary, as it is possible there may be a charge.
You might want to move money between banks, if for example you have checking accounts at two different banks. Many banks will allow you to do this in a similar fashion to the intrabank transfer discussed in the previous paragraph. Since the money may have to be transferred via the Federal Reserve, there may be a delay before the money is available in the receiving account. You should also be prepared to pay a fee for this kind of transfer. As before, read what the bank's web site says for details.
Suppose you want to move money from one of your accounts to an account that doesn't belong to you. Some banks can do this. You would need to know the other person's account number, and possibly other information. The bank probably won't let you transfer the other way, from someone else's account to yours. You would need to have the other person do this.
This is a brief summary of online money transfer capabilities. Please consult your bank for more details. This is one of the very convenient features of modern banking that make life much easier than it was 30 or 40 years ago.
