4 Ways to Safeguard Your Money in an Online Bank

Financial technology just keeps getting better. We no longer have to visit a bank in person to move money around — you can access your cash via smartphone, and even deposit checks by taking a photo of them (this blew my mind the first time I saw someone do it).

If you want to move your banking into the future, you might be considering joining an online-only bank (or perhaps you already have). Online banks have fewer overhead costs than traditional ones, so they’re more likely to pay a high APY on your savings account and let you maintain a high-quality checking account with no pesky maintenance fees.

Read on for a few great tips to keep your money safe in cyberspace.

1. Check for FDIC insurance

This is absolutely crucial, because without FDIC insurance, your money isn’t safe from bank failure. This is a rare occurrence, but certainly possible — in spring 2023, three major banks in the U.S. went under in a matter of a few days. You can check your bank’s website to see whether it’s a member of the FDIC, or use the agency’s BankFind Suite tool.

Thankfully, high-profile online banks are covered by the same FDIC insurance as your neighborhood bank or the big bank that has a branch in your city. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation covers $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. If for some reason you have more money than this at a given bank, consider splitting up your money among multiple banks to protect all of it.

2. Log in regularly

It’s a good idea to check in on your online bank accounts frequently. Aim to log in a few times a week and make sure that any bills you’ve paid have been debited out of the account, and that you’ve received any direct deposits you expected.

Check for suspicious transactions you didn’t make, and alert your bank about possible fraud. Ensure your balance is where it needs to be, based on how much money you leave in the accounts.

And speaking of your balance, if you have a linked checking and savings account with an online bank, be careful about leaving your checking overfunded. Even if it earns interest, that APY likely pales in comparison to the APY on your online savings account. Why miss out on the passive income a savings account can give you?

I’ve earned over $2,000 in interest on my savings account this year — what about you? Check out our list of the best high-yield savings accounts and watch your money grow.

I opt to keep a pretty low cushion of just $500 in my main checking account at any given time because I want to earn as much interest on my money as possible. This may be less money in checking than you’re comfortable with, but I urge you to decide on a target and make sure your money is working for you as much as possible — it is a tool, after all.

3. Enable multi-factor authentication

You might be able to enable multi-factor authentication for logging into your online bank, and I also recommend taking advantage of this. Multi-factor authentication will have you providing your online account name and password, and then also perhaps entering a numeric code that is texted or emailed to you.

This helps keep your money and data safe — it’s an extra layer of protection to ensure that it’s you who has access to your information, not some shady scammer.

4. Opt in for alerts of all kinds

Online banks go hard on technology, and you’ll likely be given the option to set up alerts for different issues, like having a low balance, receiving a direct deposit, or suspicious transactions (such as those made outside your usual geographic area).

Definitely opt in for these (you’ll likely find them on the bank’s website and mobile app). If something goes wrong with your money or your paycheck is early in a given week (hooray!), don’t you want to know about it when it happens?

Online banks are pretty great — my online high-yield savings account is easily the best bank account I’ve ever used. If you’ve yet to hop on board the online banking train, now is a perfect time. Just follow these tips to keep your cash safe.