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Do you remember the days of calling or visiting your bank to confirm a balance on your account, make a withdrawal or deposit a check? Online banking, ATMs and mobile deposit have become so integral to conducting those transactions that it’s hard to imagine going back to the old way of managing our finances. And, as we rely more and more on technology, the financial industry is on the cusp of yet another new era that will add a new level of convenience. Below are just some of the ways we’re accustomed to banking and how technology is reimagining the process.

Opening an Account
The old way: To open an account, you had to stop in to your bank on your lunch break and hope that it wasn’t too busy so that you could make it back to work in time. Or you could open the account when you had a day off, but who wants to run errands on their day off?

The new way: Now, you can simply go to your bank’s website and open an account online. The convenience of online account opening is that you aren’t shackled to the 8:30-5:00 time frame to open the account. Go ahead and open it on a lazy Sunday evening. And the best part is that it only takes about five minutes.

Buying a Home
The old way: The technology to apply or get prequalified for a mortgage has been around for a while, and that was great. But after your mortgage was approved, you still had to collect your paystubs, gather your financial information and sign a lot of documents. This meant frequent stops to the bank, the post office (which takes time and stamps), or somewhere to scan and email documents to your lender. But sending your sensitive, private information this way is a little scary, right? Anyone could get ahold of that information in transit. You could go with an online mortgage lender, but can they provide the personalized service that a local bank does?

The new way: If your local bank offers an online mortgage experience, you have the best of both worlds. You get the convenience of the entire mortgage process on your pc, tablet or smartphone, combined with a local lender to help you throughout the process who is available beyond normal business hours. It’s easy to get started. Simply create an account online and login to the secure portal. From there you can upload and sign documents crucial to the mortgage process. You can also check the progress of the mortgage, alleviating any uncertainty about the status of your loan.

Paying Your Friends and Family
The old way: If you owed someone money, you could write them a check, giving them direct access to your account number. Or you could find the nearest ATM to get cash. And if you owed them money that wasn’t a denomination of $20, you had to find a way to make change. It also requires the person to be physically there with you.
Splitting the bill at a restaurant was a nightmare. One friend would refuse to divide it equally because they only had soup (even though they ate most of the shared appetizers). Another friend would only have a $50 bill that you would have to break. And raise your hand if you’ve ever said, “you can pay me back later,” and later never came.
And how did you send money to your child at college? If you were on a joint account, you could run to the bank to transfer money. You could send them a check, but that takes time and you run the risk of it getting lost in the mail. Or, you could wait until the next time they’re home, but that wouldn’t work if they needed gas money to get there.

The new way: Some banks offer peer to peer payments, such as C&N’s PeoplePay. These types of payments make sending money as easy as logging in to your online banking and sending a text or email. Speaking of logging into online banking, most online banking mobile apps allow you to log in using your fingerprint if your smartphone or tablet is fingerprint-ready, saving you time to log in!

Shopping
The old way: Have you ever gone on a shopping spree, and you pull up to the first store eager to get started only to discover that you left your wallet at home? Day = ruined.
On those days where you were lucky enough to remember your card, you would fumble around your wallet to look for it, swipe or insert your card into the machine and force an awkward conversation with the merchant while the transaction processed. And if the card wasn’t read right, you’d have to repeat the whole thing over again while the rest of the line waited.

The new way: You can load your debit card right into your smartphone’s digital wallet and use your smartphone to complete the purchase wherever digital transactions are accepted. This includes Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay. Each transaction conducted by these digital payments is done via a secure, unique token, meaning the store never has access to your card number, making it a more secure way to pay.

Getting a new debit card
The old way: You probably haven’t fully realized how much you use your debit card unless you’ve had one lost, stolen or damaged. You would call the bank, they’d send you a new one in the mail, and how long would that take? 5-7 days?
The new way: Never again do you have to be without your debit card for an extended period of time. Instant debit cards can be a lifesaver. When your card is lost, stolen or damaged, or even when you open a new account, just walk into a branch and walk out with a new card in about five minutes. C&N offers instant debit cards in 10 of its locations throughout our footprint.

These are only some of the new technologies that are helping to usher in this new era of banking. And, because the technology is growing exponentially, you can expect even more convenient banking practices to be introduced soon. It won’t be long before the “old way” of banking becomes a distant memory.