Some people will exclusively bank online these days, but other people prefer to not bank online. There are advantages and disadvantages to both and it is a good idea to have a think through these and then it will help you to decide whether you should be banking online or not.
Security
A lot of people worry about the security of online banking. It is a concern that is genuine and something that you do need to be careful about. However, there are things that you can do to make sure that you are protected better from any problems. For example, make sure that you never follow a link to your online bank account either from an email or search engine but always type it in. Have a good virus checker and firewall and try not to log in, in a public place where you might be seen or your computer use might be tracked. Banks will have lots of information on how you can stay safe online and it is a good idea to have a look through it and this should give you the confidence to know that you are doing everything that you need to keep yourself safe. It can also be wise to ask your bank what might happen should there be fraudulent activity on your account as many banks will reimburse any lost money, which can help to give you confidence that even if it does happen, you will be protected.
Access
You will need an Internet connection to use online banking. Some people have a good connection in their home and some do not. Some people have no connection at all or one that is not reliable and others might decide to use their phone to access it. It is worth making sure that you are confident in your connection before taking on a bank account that is purely online accessible just in case you need money and cannot access the account for some reason.
Convenience
It can be a lot more convenient if you online bank. This is because you will be able to check your account balance at any time. You will also be able to do transfers and even apply for accounts and things like that from your home and outside of banking hours. If you work full-time then this can be very helpful as you will be able to use the bank when their branches are shut. You may not even have a local branch and so could find it much easier to use an online account as you do not have to travel a long way to organize your banking needs.
No Face to Face
There could be situations where you might find it difficult to do business online and you might want to be able to talk to someone about it. This could be the case if you want to negotiate something, perhaps a better interest rate or if you want to reduce loan repayments to make them easier for you to manage, for example. Some accounts do not allow this sort of thing and you are limited to only being able to deal online which some people may not mind, but others may not like. You will have to think about whether this is something that is important to you. It could be that you will be okay with talking to someone on the telephone and you will need to check whether this is something that you will be able to do with the account that you have. Some will allow telephone and online support and others just online, so you will need to check this out.