Approximately 4 million Canadians use third-party apps (these are non-bank apps) to manage their finances, but there are lots of benefits to using your own bank's app that links to your chequing, saving and credit card accounts, as well as your investments, safely and effectively.
Use Your Bank's App as a Budgeting Tool
With an app on your phone that's easy to access, you may be more inclined to plan for retirement, or simply keep track of day-to-day spending.
With your own bank's app, you can feel safe about your personal information, knowing that you haven't traded your security for convenience, since they're compliant with privacy standards required of all major Canadian financial institutions. You may void your bank's fraud protection when using a non-bank app that links into your financial accounts.
The Ability to Set Up Goals
Everybody has financial goals, whether it's to save for an emergency fund, pay off debt faster or work towards eventually buying a home. Your app can help you reach your goals faster by providing information on how much to save. When you have the ability to track your progress, perhaps you'll be more incentivized to keep going.
What You Can Do on Your Bank App
Banks have come a long way with their apps and websites. If you haven't already, be sure to download your bank's app on your phone and check out all it has to offer. You might be surprised.
Some innovative features may include:
- Depositing cheques by taking a picture
- Tracking your finances and creating categories to track your spending for you
- Helpful pointers and insights that can help you spend more wisely
- Setting up automatic payments so you can set it and forget it
- The ability to set up alerts on your bank and credit card accounts so when a purchase is made, you get a notification. This can help you protect yourself against fraudulent purchases
- Keep up-to-date with the latest COVID-19 options and many government benefits updates
- Depending on your phone, account access by fingerprint or facial ID
Using an App Can Make Personal Finance More Fun
Why not take a few minutes this week to dig in and see what's available on your bank's app? You can head to your bank's website for even more financial planning help.
And the best part is – you don't have to be good at math! They might have calculators that can show you how to become mortgage-free sooner or get your credit card paid off if you carry a balance regularly.
Tech can help make keeping track of your finances easier – all you need to do is check it out.
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