What is online banking?

After the invention of the internet, many tasks of people have become easier. And people can save time and do many things online at home.
One such facility is online banking. Where you will get various facilities and services of banking at home.

What is online banking?

When the facilities of online banking are available at home or without going to the bank, it is called online banking.
Viewing bank balances online, withdrawing money, transferring money, and doing NEFT are all part of online banking services.
Nowadays people can’t go to the bank and stand in line because they are busy. And those people whose bank is far away from home cannot always go to the bank. Therefore, all those people can get various benefits at home through online banking.
Nowadays almost every bank provides the facility of online banking or net banking to its customers.
Without going to the bank, the facilities that are available through online banking are called online banking. Through this people can do the work of various banks without standing in the bank line or going to the bank.

What is another name for online banking?
Online banking has some other names. They are
• Net banking
• Internet banking
• Web Banking
• Virtual Banking
• Mobile banking
All these are other names for online banking. Online banking is branded with special names for special purposes.
All of them aim to provide banking services to people through the Internet.

How the online banking system works
Banks usually develop software or create a website, where banks organize all their service matters. Users have to first contact the bank to include the bank account with the app or software to access it.
Then they get a specific ID and password. Then this system can be used properly. It runs around the clock and throughout the week (that means anytime and anywhere). As long as the user is connected to the Internet.
Almost all banks provide these basic services. Besides, different banks provide different types of facilities. Like booking a plane or railway ticket, payment discount, mobile top-up, etc.

Advantages of Internet banking

Hopefully from the above information, you have understood about internet banking. Now we will know what are the advantages of online banking.
If you are doing internet banking then you will get some of its benefits sitting at home. such as…
• You can recharge your mobile online
• Can pay the electricity bill and gas bill
• You can send and receive money to other people without going to the bank.
• You can check your bank balance online.
• You can buy various things online.
• You can apply for a new checkbook, passbook, and credit card through online.
• You can view transaction history through the online passbook.
You will get many more benefits.

Disadvantages of internet banking
Internet banking can be inconvenient for people who do not know much about the Internet.
For example –
Old people of yesteryear don’t know much about the Internet. So those people will not be able to use internet banking.
Also giving wrong information can lead to money from your bank going to a stranger’s bank.
Some of the disadvantages of this type of banking system are:
• Security concerns
• technical problems
• Difficulty depositing money etc.

How to start net banking?

To start net banking, you first need to visit the branch of the bank where you have an account. Now if you don’t have a bank account then first you need to create a bank account.
Then a form will be provided to start net banking. After you have filled the form correctly, submit it to the bank.
After a few days or a few days after submitting the form, the bank will give you a user ID and password. You can access the internet banking website by going to the specific bank’s website and logging in with that user ID and password.
After entering the website for the first time you will be asked some questions. After you answer all those questions correctly, you can use internet banking.
After that, once your Internet banking account is activated, you can perform various tasks by Internet banking through your own bank’s website or application.
Keep some things in mind while doing online banking
• Never do internet banking at places like cybercafes
• Do not share Internet banking passwords with any other person
• Install a good anti-virus software on the device on which you use internet banking
• Change your online banking password at least once a week.
• Use online banking with a password that no one can hack.

How Safe is Online Banking: How Banks Protect Information
Online banking is very safe despite the rise in cyber security threats worldwide. Banks use a variety of advanced security and monitoring techniques to protect your information and your money.
Nowadays online banking has made our lives easier in many ways. From transferring money or paying bills, with just a few clicks, your balance or expenses can also be monitored through online banking. But the question may arise in our mind of how safe are such bank accounts.
Online banking is very safe despite the rise in cyber security threats worldwide. Banks use a variety of advanced security and monitoring techniques to protect your information and your money.

Data-encryption technology

Data encryption converts data into another form or code. This makes it readable only by the secret ‘key’ or key. This secret key is also commonly called a decryption key or password. Financial institutions are required to encrypt data during storage and transfer. Every bank must use end-to-end encryption (E-to-E). By this, the data is converted to a string of numbers, which are generally unreadable, before being sent over the Internet.
Encryption protects users from a wide range of Cyber attacks. They primarily protect users from man-in-the-middle attacks. Banks usually use strong cryptographic algorithms. For example, DES, IDEA, RC4. However, 256-bit AES encryption is an industry standard for banks. Which is said to be almost impossible to break even in 100 years or even by the fastest computer in the world.
Hackers usually try to get hold of your Personally Identifiable Information (PII). That includes your credit card number, password, address, and even your name. That’s why your data is sent using a public ‘key’ and a private ‘key’ encryption. These ‘keys’ are held only by you and your bank. So only these two can decrypt that data.
When you log in to the bank’s website or mobile banking system. The session is then encrypted using the Secure Socket Layer or SSL protocol. So that no other person can monitor your log-in session activity or the information stored in your bank account.

Cyber Threat Intelligence or CTI

A study by IT security firm Imperva found that distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS attacks, among financial institutions, increased by 30 percent between 2019 and 2020. DDoS attacks, business e-mail compromise attacks, phishing attempts, and ransomware are all constant threats to banks.
That’s why financial services use a technology called Cyber Threat Intelligence, or CTI. Which can detect all ongoing and emerging cyber threats for their money. This technology performs many tasks simultaneously, such as collecting, processing, and analyzing data from an organization. It can provide information about key features of potential cyber attacks on banks. It even provides information on key cyber trends affecting the global financial sector.
It presents information to relevant senior officials of specific organizations to counter current threats and prevent future data breaches. A threat intelligence system helps banks act quickly and efficiently in the event of a data breach. At that time it also recovers the data instantly.

Secure Infrastructure

System infrastructure security can reduce the risk of operational disruptions, as well as internal and external threats. The infrastructure of the banks is seen to be equipped with the latest technology. These include advanced technologies such as firewalls, system vulnerability scanners, log collectors, and intrusion detection systems.
This infrastructural security protects both hardware and software. To prevent unauthorized access to the bank’s private network, the firewall filters all incoming and outgoing data. Firewalls also ensure that attackers cannot install any harmful software on bank computers.
Apart from this, banks use User Behavior Analytics (UBA) technology to avoid internal cyber attacks. UBA helps identify hacked accounts easily by analyzing the data to find unusual activities like double logins or accessing accounts from different locations and more.

Multi-Factor Authentication or MFA

Multi-factor authentication or MFA is not only applicable to the user during online banking. It is found everywhere in banks or financial institutions. Especially in their core banking system and application database. Banks generally no longer use passwords and only PINs. Because passwords may be given to a variety of third parties. As it turns out, most MFAs offered by banks to their employees are usually password-free.
The most secure MFA method is biometric authentication. which verifies the unique characteristics of the user such as fingerprint, voice, handprint, or iris scan of the eye. If the biometric does not match the user will not be able to access the system. Biometrics cannot be stolen like one-time passwords or our very popular OTP. Not even if someone has possession of that device.

Antivirus and anti-malware protection

Banks use multiple antiviruses to detect viruses and prevent them from entering their computer network systems. Antiviruses can detect various types of threats and remove them. These include software ransomware and various infected attachments. This security system also details things like the virus’s malware family, version, variant, and specific risk score.
When these specifics are given to those concerned with bank security, they deal with the problem. Financial institutions regularly update and maintain their antivirus software. Because older versions\
Online banking is becoming popular day by day worldwide. Because its simple solutions always attract people. It gives a huge advantage to people to conduct banking activities from their comfort zone. As a result, time is saved and the user is free from many kinds of additional hassles.
Online banking is becoming popular in Bangladesh like everywhere else. Some of its important effects are increasing day by day in our lives. Instead of wasting a lot of time going to the bank, people are now able to save their time and use it for other productive purposes.