There are many difficult decisions that business owners have to make, and choosing a bank is perhaps at the top of the list. If one does not find a reliable, trustworthy bank, then one’s finances can be thrown into disarray.
Business owners have enough stress as it is without having to deal with an unreliable bank that doesn’t function efficiently. Thankfully, finding a bank that’s right for one’s business doesn’t have to be difficult – there are lots to choose from!
This article will explain why choosing a reliable bank is important for maintaining one’s business:
Security
A reliable bank is a secure one. When you’re browsing the best banks available to you, you need to find one that offers robust security. Money is your business’s lifeblood. If you aren’t careful where you place it, you could lose it. Without money to support it, your business will inevitably fail. If one cannot buy stock, pay employees, and pay property rent or mortgage, how can one possibly keep one’s business afloat? For this reason, you need to find a bank that takes its security, and your money’s security, very seriously.
Insurance
A reliable bank will have insurance. This means that if they go bankrupt or your money is stolen, their insurer will pay out and compensate you for your losses. During the 2008 financial crisis, millions of businesses would have lost their savings if it weren’t for banks insuring their money. Most banks are required to be insured. With that said, if you’re considering an offshore bank, this might not be the case. Always confirm that a bank is insured before you create an account with them so that you don’t end up losing your money if the bank were to suddenly close.
Speed
A reliable bank is a fast bank. This means that they process transfers quickly. In the past, banks would take several days to process a transfer. Nowadays, transfers can be processed in as little as an hour. The same is true for deposits. As a business owner, speed is everything. When you need to pay for a shipment or to pay your employees, you need to be able to send money immediately. You also need to receive money quickly. Before you commit to a bank, do some research into their deposit, withdrawal, and transfer times.
Support
When you’re dealing with a bank, you need around-the-clock support. Most reliable banks offer this. If you can’t get somebody on the phone, at the very least you should be able to communicate with a bank representative over live chat. Customer support is very important nowadays, in the age of cyber theft. If you can’t instantly get a hold of somebody, you won’t be able to reverse, cancel, and block fraudulent payments. For this reason, do your research before committing to a bank, and find one that offers 24-hour support, every single day of the year. This shouldn’t be difficult.
Access
In addition to around-the-clock support, you also need to find a bank that gives you easy access to your money. Ideally, in today’s digital age, you should have access to your money through a phone application. Alternatively, you should be able to phone the bank – as mentioned previously – and make transfers over the phone. If there isn’t a dedicated support team manning the phones 24-hours a day, at the very least you should be able to move your money around through an automated telephone system. As a business owner, you could have to move your money around at any time, so you need immediate access to it.
Packages
Most reliable banks offer their customers packages. These packages usually involve the account holder upgrading their account, and therefore paying more in fees. These packages can be very useful and have lots of benefits, from discounts on airline flights to cashback. It’s worth exploring what each prospective bank has to offer in the way of packages. If you can save yourself some money and enjoy the benefits of dealing with a reliable bank, why not?
Savings
Many business owners hold business savings accounts. If you are interested in opening a saving account for your money, then explore what each bank has to offer. Some accounts provide higher interest rates, allowing you to earn more money back. You may also want to explore a bank’s investment accounts. Some banks offer very lucrative investment accounts that allow you to earn a lot of money.
Choosing a reliable bank is very important, as this article demonstrates. All of the qualities that are found in this article should be present in the bank that you decide to do business with. Use this article as a guide for finding that bank.