How To Transfer Money Online To Friends And Family
Digital apps and services make it easier to send money to others
Read, 3 minutes
Maybe you need to send money to a child in college, pay your sons piano teacher or split the cost of dinner with a friend. Whatever the reason, most people need to send money to a family member, friend or someone else at one time or another. There are several ways to do that electronically, each with its own advantages.
Protect Your Bank Account Numbers
The routing number and SWIFT codes of any financial institution are readily available to all customers. You may even find these numbers on the home page of a bank or credit union. But your bank account number is more confidential. Once you find your account number, make sure to keep it to yourself.
Never share your sensitive financial information with someone you dont know. Additionally, take the time to scan over your bank transactions regularly. If you see something that you didn’t authorize, contact your bank right away.
Routing Number Vs Account Number Example
You should be able to find both your routing number and account number by logging into your online banking account. You can also find them on your checks. At the bottom of each check, you will see three groups of numbers: routing numbers appear as the first group, the account number generally comes second, and the third is the actual check number. Sometimes, however, such as on official bank checks, those numbers can appear in a different sequence.
This series of numbers is embedded with magnetic ink, known as your checks MICR line. Pronounced “micker,” the magnetic ink enables each banks processing equipment to read and process the account information.
If you don’t have a check handy and need to know your routing and account numbers, you can find them by logging into your bank’s website or app. When you get to your account, click on see the full account number, and it should show you the routing number as well. You can also call your bank and ask for the bank’s routing number over the phone. If you need your account number, you will most likely have to give them additional information to access it.
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What Can Someone Do With Your Bank Account Number Alone
Many of us wonder, What can someone do with my bank account number? We worry that our digits going public might be as bad as if your credit card number was leaked. The good news is, if someone only has your bank account number, that wont give them enough intel to do any damage. Take comfort in knowing that no one will be able to withdraw money in your account if all they have is your account number.
Thats not to say nothing bad ever happens. If a scammer had your account number and other info perhaps your drivers license number and/or your home address they might be able to make illegal purchases online. So dont relax and think you shouldnt be guarded with your bank account number.
Its worthwhile to check your account as frequently as needed for you to sleep soundly at night. Routinely monitoring your account activity say, once a week is a smart move that allows you to quickly detect if anything is awry.
Send Your Money Using Your Bank Account And Routing Number
With a bank account number and a routing number, someone will be able to send money to your bank account. The person will be able to successfully complete the transaction if they have these two sets of information.
If you are expecting money from someone or youre on a direct deposit scheme, receiving money should not be an issue. However, it is also possible to see unexpected funds in your bank account. If this happens, it is important to check with your bank to trace the source of the funds.
If you see unusually large amounts of cash in your bank account, one possible scenario is that someone might be setting you up for illegal activities like money laundering.
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Debit Card To Another Debit Card Fund Transfer
You can send money from one debit card to another but the process is not direct. If you are wondering how to transfer money from a debit card to another debit card, you are good to go in here. First, you can transfer funds to the debit cardholder using the actual account number of the recipient.
The payment gets received in a few minutes. Immediately, the money reflects in the recipient account, its also available in the recipients debit card for the card, and the bank account is directly linked.
However, funds transfer from your debit account to another debit account of the same bank is the easiest since you need only the account number of the recipient. On the other hand, both the routing number and the account number are necessary when sending money from one account to the other. Additionally, you must create a link between the two banks before transacting.
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Looking Up Your Account Number Without A Card
How To Send Money To A Mobile Wallet
There are some steps to send money to a mobile wallet. those steps are given below:
i) Send online or in the app
Using the Fee Estimator, select the Mobile Wallet receive method.
ii) Send in-store using cash
Visit one of the MoneyGram convenient locations to send money directly to a mobile wallet.
iii) Provide your receivers information
Online and in-store, give us their full legal name and mobile number, including international dial code, to send to their mobile wallet.
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Is It Safe To Give Someone Your Bank Account Number
Giving out your banking details to anyone, whether a person, an online vendor or a company, has risks involved. The answer to whether it is safe to give out your bank details to someone will really depend on who you are giving the information to and what method you are using to give this information. To prevent scams, always verify the identity of anyone who asks for your bank account number.
Transferring An Account From One Bank To Another
You may decide to transfer your bank account from one financial institution to another if it offers a product that better suits your needs. Its also a good idea to review your banking package from time to time.
Most financial institutions have processes to help you manage the transfer. This may include arranging for your old financial institution to transfer all your pre-authorized debits to your new account.
Keep your old account open during the transfer. Cut up old debit cards and cheques to prevent fraud.
Check your statements from both financial institutions until youre sure that:
- the new account is running smoothly
- youre not making the same payments twice
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What Is A Bank Account Number
A bank account number is a unique set of digits assigned to the account holder when you open a bank account. Financial institutions will assign such numbers to each account you hold. Businesses and banks use these numbers to identify your account. A bank account number is not to be confused with the routing number, which identifies the financial institution. For this article, well focus on the bank account number.
Locating The Account Number On Your Card
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How To Find Your Bank Account Number
Where you can find this important information about your account and what does it mean.
These days more than ever Canadians are doing much of their banking online. And it’s almost certain that you’ll need to know your transit, institution and account numbers in order to complete electronic transactions.
These numbers are essential when depositing and withdrawing money from sources such as the following:
- Wire transfer
- Transfers between two bank accounts
- Tax refunds
- Payroll with a new employer
- Receiving emergency government benefits
- Transferring funds to and from a brokerage account
But how exactly do you find these numbers?
There are two easy ways: look at the numbers on the bottom of your cheque, or find them by logging into your online or mobile banking.
Lets break down what numbers you will find there.
Shop Online And Pay With Your Checking Account Number
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Online shopping offers unrivaled convenience you can buy electronics, clothes, groceries, or practically anything from your phone or computer and have it delivered to your door as fast as the same day! However, if you dont have a credit or debit card, it can be tough to access the variety and savings that online shopping offers. The good news is that some of the largest online stores let you pay with your checking account number. Heres how it works.
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What Is A Checking Account Number
Your checking account number designates and identifies your unique account at the bank you use. Your bank uses this number to indicate where funds intended for you should be deposited or withdrawn from. Any time you set up payment systems such as direct deposit or an electronic payment app, youll need to provide this number.2
Which Number Is The Account Number On A Check
The second set of numbers following the character symbol immediately after your routing number is your account number. Sometimes the placement can be switched with the check number. To determine your account number, simply choose the longer number. This number is private and unique to your bank account youll find it only on your personal checks or by signing into your online account.
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What Is A Swift Code
A SWIFT code is an alphanumeric string of 8 to 11 characters that SWIFT uses to identify financial institutions. Each institution has a unique code, which is also referred to as its bank identifier code or ISO 9362 code.
SWIFT serves as the messaging system that enables a worldwide network of financial institutions to exchange funds. It is used internationally and for money transfers that cross national borders. SWIFT codes are often used when initiating wire transfers both from another country to the U.S. and from a U.S. bank to one in another country.
Each SWIFT code is generated using information about the particular financial institution using the following system:
-
The institution code
-
The country code
-
Location code
-
Individual branch code
What Are The Common Online Money Transfer Platforms
There are several online money transfer platforms available in the market. They support transfer funds with routing and account number. The most common ones include PayPal, Payoneer, World Remit, Skrill, Azimo, Stripe, and Western Union, among others.
PayPal :- is the most secure online method to transfer money using routing number and account number. PayPal has been in the market for long and has seen tremendous growth more so with online shopping.
World Remit :- operates in over 140 countries in the world. It is secure and fast. With the introduction of Android and iOS app, you can now send money within minutes to people around the globe. The good thing with World Remit is that transfers can be received as bank deposits, airtime top-up and cash pick up. The sender and the receiver get a notification message when the transaction gets completed. The first sign up deal is free.
Venmo :- is an excellent platform for business transactions. Transfer of money is quick to bank accounts as you can send money using routing number to someoneâs account. PayPal bore Venmo, and the platform is quickly growing. It works by linking your credit card or bank account to the app.
Azimo :- has an app in the Google play store and appleâs app store. Azimo has reasonable fees for every transaction carried out. They have over 200,000 destinations in the world. However, their customer service is only by email.
Bottom Line
Graham
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How To Shop Online And Pay With Your Checking Account Number
Before you shop online, youll need to pieces of information to pay with your checking account your account number and your banks routing number, which is a unique code that identifies your bank. Routing numbers are always nine digits long, while account numbers may be up to 17 digits long.
You can find your bank account number on your statement, online banking portal or on the bottom of your checks. Your banks routing number is also printed on the bottom of your checks and can generally be found with a quick Google search for routing number, though note that some banks have multiple routing numbers so be sure to confirm that you are using the correct one if you search for it online.
If you dont have a checkbook you can look at your monthly statement which should also contain both numbers. Alternatively, log in to your online banking facility which will display all your account info including the routing number.
Depending on the retailer you are shopping at making the actual payment can be as simple as entering your routing number and your account number. Most retailers will also need the name of the account holder and the address. You could also be asked for a driving license number.
Other retailers might require that you first fund your purchase by linking your checking account to a wallet. Either way, paying with your bank account number is no hassle at all and can be as easy as using a credit card or a debit card.
What Can Someone Do With Your Bank Account Number
Imagine how many scammers may be trying to steal your bank account. Sometimes, they just need a few pieces of data to breach all your accounts.
Thats why the first step starts with security. You set passwords on your account and not share them with anyone.
What about the account number?
You may notice that when you want to transfer money, all you need to do is enter your number and the destination number. Yet, this number is visible everywhere. Specifically, everyone who ever had to transfer your money has it.
Is that a problem? What can others do with your bank account?
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