How often should you monitor your bank account?

Did you remember to pay your electric bill this month? Did your employer directly deposit your paycheck as expected? If you have questions about your finances, you don't need to wait for a month-end statement to receive answers. You can simply monitor your bank account and review recent withdrawals or deposits with a mobile app or online banking services. These digital banking tools promote good financial habits and help you effectively manage your budget. They also make it easier to catch small issues, like a missed payment or an error on a paper check before they become problems.

How often should you check your accounts?

The number of times you review bank information each month may vary based on the amount of activity in an account, your financial goals or simply your personal preference. While savings accounts can quietly earn interest, a checking account with numerous debits and credits necessitates more attention. If you anticipate a large deposit, like an annual bonus, you might want to check your balance daily until it's received. Small business owners may also need to track their accounts daily to ensure transactions are processed correctly and that they have sufficient funds to manage their cash flow. Lifestyle can influence how often you need to monitor your bank account as well.

Why is it important to check your accounts regularly?

Instead of checking your bank accounts once a month, regular reviews using a mobile banking app makes it easy to track daily or weekly spending habits and make adjustments as needed. For example, if you're halfway through the month and have already exceeded your budget for restaurants, it may be time to consider cooking meals at home.

Bank monitoring also helps you achieve savings goals. Daily or weekly account reviews can give you a better handle on your overall finances. This may also motivate you to add more money to savings, which in turn will earn you additional interest and allow your money to grow.

Additionally, glancing over your deposits and withdrawals every few days can help you spot miscalculations or other errors. Breaking down recent activity by viewing it in a different format, such as a mobile app versus a longer monthly statement, can help math errors or unauthorized charges stand out. For example, you may notice a charge for a canceled subscription or that your cell provider's bill with a fixed price has inexplicably doubled.

Monitoring your account activity is a smart practice in itself, but it's crucial to review recent activity for fraudulent transactions, especially if you travel frequently or use debit cards often. Reporting unfamiliar transactions to your bank can halt a scam attempt in the early stages, and possibly avoid the challenges of dealing with a frozen account.

Daily or weekly monitoring also prevents overdrawn funds, which can result in additional bank fees. If you preschedule large monthly payments — like rent, a mortgage or subscription services — you'll need the funds to cover the amounts. If your payday shifts for any reason, you'll have time to transfer or deposit additional funds to cover automatic payments before overdrawing your account.

What should you look for when reviewing your account?

When you view an account in the mobile app, review your total balance to see if it aligns with your estimate. If not, examine the details to understand why. Take note of any unusual or unexpected items that may cause concern, including:

• Unfamiliar purchases: If something looks strange, review the provided details, such as the time and place of the transaction. Even small dollar amounts should be investigated, as many scammers or bank imposters will attempt to run low-dollar charges through an account before using stolen information to make a large transaction.
• Direct deposits: Verify the date and amount by comparing your pay stub with the number reported by the bank.
• Automatic payments: Make sure recurring payments occur as scheduled. Follow up on any missing or incorrect amounts.
• Spending habits: How much have you spent over the past day, week or month? Should you adjust your budget to incorporate unexpected expenses, like a car repair? If you need to scale back monthly expenses, consider canceling underutilized subscription services.
• Interest: If your account earns interest, make sure it's received and calculated correctly.

How the Citizens app can help you monitor your bank account

You don't have to visit a branch or sit at a computer to check your bank balance, deposit checks or gain instant access to your funds. The Citizens app allows you to safely and securely monitor your accounts, transfer funds, pay bills and conduct other financial transactions from virtually anywhere. Reviewing your accounts regularly within the app also helps you set and track personal savings goals.

In addition to providing the most up-to-date balance and transaction history, you can sign up for push notifications to view account details quickly or opt to receive account alerts to assist you when unusual activity occurs. If your balances appear incorrect or a withdrawal seems suspicious, you can promptly report the error to Cizi, our AI-powered digital assistant.

Download the Citizens app today

Sometimes financial questions arise that need immediate attention. With mobile banking, you can quickly scan your recent transactions to make sure a deposit was received, or a critical payment was processed. Although we're always happy to assist in person, you can find answers to many of your banking questions without needing to visit a branch.

You're just a few clicks away from 24-7 monitoring capabilities with a mobile app or online banking. Download the Citizens mobile app* today to learn more.