Number of people doing banking online growing

Banking has come a long way since the days before automated teller machines and online banking. Now, with the advent of computer technology, a customer can bank from a home computer or freely make deposits and withdrawals at an ATM.

Local bankers say that the number of people using online banking continues to grow daily and so does the list of services offered online.

According to the Bank of America Web site, www.bankofamerica.com, its customers can apply for almost any banking product online. This includes checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, mortgages, credit or debit cards and auto loans. They can also access the bank's investment services, which offer stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

Kelly Polonus, a spokesperson for Bank of America, said the bank is now offering its customers two new services and has a third in the works:

Since January, Bank of America online customers have been able to view electronic versions of bills from participating payees; schedule one-time or recurring payments for virtually any bill, regardless of whether it has been delivered electronically; and pay other individuals online rather than by writing a paper check.

Paying bills online is free to the customer for the first three months, and then a $5.95 per month fee applies.

"This fee is waived if the customer has an Advantage or Money Manager account with us," Polonus said. "These accounts are determined by your relationship with the bank." Electronic billing and payment saves bank customers time and simplifies their lives, she added.

"Our online Banking Peace of Mind Guarantee lets our customers know they can be confident that access to their accounts will be secure, their payments will be made on time and their information will remain private," Polonus said.

Online customers also can receive their credit card bills electronically. This includes those from a department store, a gas company or credit card company.

The bank also offers customers photo security credit and check cards.

Photo security card features the customer's photograph and signature. Merchants who accept the card as payment can verify a persons' identity immediately.

By the end of this year, Bank of America customers will be able to go online and obtain digital copies of their checks. The images will also be available to the customer inside the bank or at an ATM.

At Great Southern Bank, customers can go to www.greatsouthernbank.com to see if their checks have cleared, view their transactions (get an actual image of the front and back of the check or deposit) and transfer between accounts. They can pay any bill online, including credit card, telephone and utility bills. The service is free for the first three months, then it costs $3.30 a month for up to 10 bills paid online. Each subsequent bill transaction costs 33 cents.

"We have people enrolling to use these services every day," said Gwen Hager, Great Southern's online banking coordinator. "Everyone loves being able to bank online. They don't have to come into one of our facilities, and they can bank 24 hours a day. It's a way for them to keep on top of their money."

Commerce Bank offers their customers two different online options to pay bills Bill Pay and PC Banking.

The Bill Pay option is free to the customer for the first three months, then costs $6.95 a month. Customers can look up their account information to find out what bills have been paid, their balance and other information.

The PC Banking option, which needs either Quicken or Microsoft Money software to work, is $9.95 per month. This option allows the customer to stop payment on a check at no additional charge.

Chris McReynolds, a PC Banking representative for Commerce, said people of all ages are signing on to www.commercebank.com to pay their bills.

"We have a lot of older people paying their bills this way because they don't want to have to go into the bank," he said. "We're getting more customers coming online every day. A lot of people are taking advantage of going online because an ATM can only give you so much information."