2. Text Banking

For members who wish to take advantage of mobile banking but do not have a smart phone, text banking may be the best option for you. You may request your financial institution to send you alerts via text messages. These alerts are available for account balances, payments, direct deposits, and a countless number of account activity. Some financial institutions allow members to sign up for these alerts through their online banking service for free while others charge a fee, in addition to the text messaging fees members may be charged by their cell phone carriers. In some cases text messaging may also be used to communicate with financial institution personnel instead of e-mail or sending a message through an online web site’s contact center.

For instance by texting certain codes or instructions, financial institution members may be able to send donations from their deposit accounts. These donations are sent to charitable organizations or causes with which the financial institution has an established partnership. There can be a whole array of codes a member can send to the financial institution. Just remember that each financial institution is different with the use of their coding, so make sure you know and learn the codes if you are planning to sign up for the text banking option.