I’m a Bank Teller: 5 Ways To Use Bank Account Alerts To Stay on Top of Your Finances

One of the main components of financial management is your bank account . After all, your bank account will handle most of your cash inflow and outflow. Effective bank account management ensures your sensitive information is safely stored, adds convenience in day-to-day management and helps you unlock insights to better your financial position.

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“If you’re banking with a national bank, you probably have access to many tools within your online account,” said Nicole W., a bank teller with Chase Bank. “These include many security features, such as account alerts. Here are five ways I recommend using bank account alerts to stay on top of your finances .”

Automated Fraud Alerts

“Enabling fraud alerts allows you to stop fraud when it first occurs,” Nicole said. “If you never check your account for fraudulent transactions, scammers could drain your account before you realize it, causing you to bounce bills and payments. Not to mention that your hard-earned money is gone, and it could take weeks or months to recoup the funds.”

Automated fraud alerts will send you a text message to confirm the legitimacy of the transaction. Answering “no” stops the charge from going through and locks down your compromised card and account.

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Balance Limit Notifications

Part of financial management is monitoring your spending. Setting up balance alerts gives you a quick reminder that you are nearing your spending limits. Most financial institutions track your spending habits in the background, similar to budget apps. As you approach your budget category limits, you will receive a notification. Having a reminder could be what you need to skip a takeout order that night and save money.

“Most importantly, balance alerts reduce your risk of an overdraft,” Nicole added. “But that’s not all they can help you with. You can set up your balance limit notifications according to your financial goals. For example, if you want to have one month of expenses in your account at all times, you might set up a notification when you are within $100 of this amount.”

Real-Time Transaction Monitoring

Real-time transaction monitoring alerts you every time your debit card is swiped, money is deposited into your account or funds are pulled out. Understanding the transactions in your account gives you more control over your spending, saving and planning.

“Let’s say you wrote a check or initiated a transaction through a third-party payment app,” Nicole said. “If the funds weren’t immediately withdrawn from your account, you might forget about the transaction. Real-time transaction monitoring notifies you when the funds leave your account, giving you a reminder.”

Nicole continued, “Real-time monitoring is also beneficial for detecting fraudulent transactions as they occur. Even if your bank doesn’t flag the transaction as potential fraud, you are immediately alerted, giving you the option to freeze your card and prevent any future fraud. When setting up these alerts, you can determine the threshold you want to be notified at. This could be $1 or $100.”

Account Changes

Protecting your personal information from cyber threats is essential. By setting up notifications for account changes, you are alerted when your personal information changes in your bank account, such as your login information, address, phone number or email. Additionally, account change alerts notify you when there is a login from a new location.

“Understanding when unauthorized changes were made is important to prevent a total lockout,” Nicole said. “As soon as you get an alert for an account change, you can call your bank and stop the login, change your personal information back and re-secure your account.”

Enroll In Free Credit Reports

“Historically, credit reporting bureaus allowed you to view your credit report once a year for free,” Nicole said. “This is no longer the case, as some financial institutions provide you with a free report once a month. Enrolling in these programs helps you monitor and improve your credit. For example, if you notice a new account inquiry, you can figure out if someone is using your Social Security number to take out loans and credit cards.”

Regularly viewing your credit report gives you an opportunity to improve your score to receive more favorable financing terms down the road. Maybe you notice your revolving utilization is too high or there’s an error. Whatever the case, enrolling in free credit reporting programs offered through your bank is a great way to stay on top of your finances.

Which of these bank alerts can you take advantage of? Remember, every financial institution will offer different types of alerts and programs. Take a few minutes to view your offerings in your notification settings. Customizing this information helps you take control of your banking and effectively manage your finances.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : I’m a Bank Teller: 5 Ways To Use Bank Account Alerts To Stay on Top of Your Finances