Univest Bank and Trust Co. Offers New Solutions, Greater Convenience for Online Banking

Univest Bank and Trust Co. Offers New Solutions, Greater Convenience for Online Banking
By Lou Spinelli
Executive Vice President, Univest Bank and Trust Co.

Research on consumers’ banking habits over the last several years points to a significant increase in their comfort level with doing their banking online.

A March 2012 Ernst & Young survey of banking customers in the United States and other developed countries found that 63 percent of customers preferred using the Internet to access account information vs. 13 percent for the second-ranked method, branch visits. Additionally, 55 percent of U.S. customers preferred using the Internet for conducting simple transactions such as paying bills.

Consumers that bank online – whether by computer, iPad or iPhone – enjoy the convenience of handling their financial transactions digitally, the benefits of real-time banking and the added security of two-factor authentication, a security precaution required of all financial institutions.

The most popular features of online banking are:

• 24/7 access to account information
• Banking from home or an office rather than visiting a branch
• Seeing account transactions in real time
• Paying bills quickly, including setting up automatic payments on a scheduled date
• Transferring money between accounts
• Accessing past bank statements and check copies, making financial record keeping simpler and more organized

Univest Bank and Trust Co. not only offers these solutions, which make banking easy for you and your students while they are home or heading off to school, but we also offer Person-to-Person Funds Transfer (transfer money from your account to another individual’s account at any bank across the country for free), QuickView (e-mail messages with a snapshot view of the activity in your account) and email alerts (email notices based on your designation). 

The use of mobile banking services for bill payments and money transfers also is growing rapidly. Forrester forecasts 61 million U.S. consumers will use mobile banking next year, up from 47 million in 2012. One of the mobile banking services made possible by today’s smartphones is remote deposit. Univest Bank and Trust Co. recently introduced Remote Deposit Anywhere, a service that enables customers to deposit checks from an Apple iPhone 4 or higher.

With Remote Deposit Anywhere, account holders simply download a the Univest app on their iPhone, select the “Deposits” icon and take a picture of the front and endorsed back of the check. Customers then enter the check amount and select the Univest account for deposit. An e-mail is sent to the account holder when the deposit has been approved, usually within minutes.

For many banks, Facebook has become an important online way to stay connected with its customers and communities. Univest’s Facebook page keeps customers updated on current promotions and upcoming community events. But we also use it as an opportunity to foster civic mindedness and participation. For example, in two recent contests we invited consumers to show their community spirit by voting for their favorite community college, favorite library and favorite hospital on our Facebook page. Those institutions that received the most votes received a $1,000 donation from Univest.

For those consumers that just can’t get used to the idea of handling financial transactions over the Internet, here are some suggestions that may help them get started:

• Start slowly with basic features such as viewing your balance online and moving funds between accounts in the same institution.
• Once you become accustomed to these online banking tools, move to transactions such as online bill payments and funds transfers between different banks.
• Make a deposit online or apply for a loan online. Consumers considering such transactions over the Web can expect to be asked to enter their personal information and answer specific questions about themselves for security purposes.

Univest Bank and Trust Co. is doing more and more to bring the power and convenience of the Internet to our customers. Even computer novices can quickly discover the time-saving conveniences of online banking by simply taking the first step of “giving it a try.” For more information about the financial solutions highlighted, please visit our website at www.univest.netor call us at 877-723-5571. Univest Bank and Trust Co. is a Member FDIC.