A checking account is a type of bank account that allows you to withdraw and deposit money. Unlike other types of bank accounts such as Savings and Certificates of Deposit, a checking account enables you to access your money at any time of the day. If someone needs money from you urgently, you can easily send money with checking account number instantly to their accounts without wasting much time.
Online banks are excellent when it comes to the faster transfer of money from one bank account to another. The reason is that you can access your bank account on your smartphone or computer so long as you have internet connectivity. Such banks also allow new customers to open their bank accounts online by uploading the necessary documents to the bank’s website within a few minutes.
Checking accounts usually comes with debit cards that one can use to access money in an ATM. With such a card, you can also transfer money instantly to another bank account of the same bank as yours. While you can send money to someone else using an ATM card, it is also possible to access your ATM card account online for some banks.
How to send money with checking account number instantly
Have you ever received a call from a friend or family member asking you to send them money instantly? It can be traumatizing thinking about how you will avail the needed cash as soon as possible if you don’t know how to send money instantly. The following are ways on how you can send money instantly.
1) Account to account transfer
Account to account transfers of the same bank is usually instant. If the recipient has a bank account in the same bank as you, you can easily send money to their bank account using their checking account number. The money appears in their bank account within a few minutes.
Most banks do not charge you any fees when transferring money to another bank account of the same bank. The recipient can then withdraw the funds over the counter or at an ATM point. In some countries, mobile money has evolved to greater heights, and one can easily withdraw cash at a bank’s agent shop.
It is also possible to transfer money from one card to another online. If you have an ATM card from the same issuer as the recipient, you can send them money instantly by logging in to your card’s account online and then sending money. Transfers from one bank to another bank may take days to reflect in the recipient’s account and cannot help emergency fund transfers.
2) Use PayPal
PayPal is another option you can use to instantly send money if you have the recipient’s checking account number. The choice, however, comes with some fees, unlike the usual way where PayPal to bank transfers take days. The instant transfers from PayPal to bank accounts take around 30 minutes to complete.
The service costs you 1% of the total amount to transfer up to $10.00. The only shortcoming with PayPal instant transfers is that only people (US Citizens) with a Social Security Number qualify for the service. Furthermore, not all banks qualify to use the PayPal instant feature. So if you have money in your PayPal account and need to send it instantly, do not hesitate to use the instant transfer feature.
3) Zelle
Zelle offers online payment services, and the app integrates with many banks and credit union apps. If your bank accepts Zelle, it is convenient to send money instantly to your friend or family member. The recipient should have a Zelle account whereby you can send them money at no fees, and then they can withdraw to their bank accounts within minutes.
Even though Zelle to Zelle transfers is free, some banks might charge Zelle to bank transfers. You must always double-check to see the fees for the transaction. It is important to note that Zelle only operates in the US.
Therefore, you cannot perform international transfers using the app. Furthermore, Zelle processes USD payments only. Another shortcoming of Zelle is that you can only send up to $500 per week. If you need to transfer extra money, then it can be a challenge.
Limitations on the amounts of money to send are necessary to limit financial crimes such as money laundering, among others. Apart from allowing peer-to-peer transfers, Zelle also allows users with small businesses to accept payments quickly and easily.
4) WorldRemit
WorldRemit is an international money transfer platform just like PayPal. If you send money from WorldRemit to the recipient’s bank account, expect them to receive it within one business day. It makes it a suitable platform to send money instantly irrespective of your location.
Almost half of the WorldRemit bank transfers reflect within 10 minutes in the recipient’s account. When sending money to bank accounts in other countries with stringent anti-laundering laws, it may take up to 3 days to reflect in the bank accounts. In such a scenario, it might prove inappropriate to send money for emergency use.
5) Veem
Less known but very effective when it comes to instant transfers. You have to activate Instant Deposit if you want all your future deposits done instantly. All you need is to link a debit card to Veem to be channeling your instant deposits. That means the recipient’s checking account should have a debit card.
It takes around 10 minutes for the funds to reflect in the recipient’s card account. You can create an automatic instant deposit in your Veem app to a particular card account number instead of manually carrying out the process.
Interestingly, you can turn off the feature if you are no longer interested. It is important to note that Veem instant deposits are only available to US citizens with valid Social Security numbers. It means that the payments must be in USD and within the US. Veem does not have a limit for instant deposits. Very interesting.
6) Google Pay
Google Pay offers instant transfer services to a debit card. If your recipient has a checking account with a debit card, you can easily transfer funds instantly to their accounts. You can transfer up to $10,000 per transaction.
Apart from money transfers, Google Pay is suitable for paying for Google-related services and items. It integrates well with Gmail to ensure smooth performance.
7) Xoom
If you want to do an across-border money transfer, then Xoom can be a good option. You have to convert the money to the local currency of the country you are sending the money. Xoom allows the bank to bank transfers and charges some fees for the currency conversion.
You can transfer money to bank accounts instantly via Xoom in the country where it is applicable. Operations take place online, and you can use your phone to have things in place.
8) MoneyGram
MoneyGram operates in 200 countries plus as well as territories. It competes with Western Union in matters concerning international money transfers, and in this digital era, the company has perfected its services greatly.
You can have an online account with MoneyGram, where you can perform your transactions. It allows online transfers to bank accounts, although it may take hours. Sometimes it may take days depending on some situations.
Why does it take so long for the bank to bank transfers?
If you have tried sending money from one bank to the other, you must have noticed that it takes several days for the funds to reflect in the recipient’s account. It can take up to five days for the transaction to complete. But why does it take so long? Usually, banks follow the ‘good funds’ model before releasing funds to the target account.
The ‘good funds’ model requires banks to confirm with the sender’s bank that the sender’s account has the amount of money they are sending. The process ensures that banks do not suffer from fraudulent transactions where someone may just initiate funds transfer, yet they do not have sufficient balance.
Another reason banks delay some days to complete a transaction is to check the source of money. The money could be from a criminal gang that wants to sponsor evil activities in another place. Once a bank has confirmed sufficient funds/sources in the sender’s account, it then releases the funds to the recipient’s account. The process can take a day or more.
Is it secure to send money online?
Financial institutions have put the necessary measures to enable secure online money transfers. End-to-end data encryption, PIN, and biometric identification are mechanisms banks use to protect online activities. Therefore, it is safe to carry out online transactions.
Despite the above measures, you also have a responsibility to ensure that your bank account is safe by using secure internet connections and keeping your PIN information private.
Can I perform international transfers instantly?
Yes. Some platforms allow you to send money instantly. Xoom, as discussed above, is one of the ways you can transfer money to bank accounts immediately across borders. Another option is PayPal. Even though PayPal does not have a bank transfer instant option in other countries except the USA, funds usually reflect instantly or within a few minutes in the recipient’s PayPal accounts.
You can also use other platforms such as Western Union or MoneyGram to transfer funds instantly to recipients in other countries.
Can I cancel a transaction?
Some banks and mobile money platforms allow you to cancel transactions if you send them to the wrong recipients. Others do not allow canceling transactions, and you may have to plead with the recipients to send the money back. The most important thing you have to do is ensure that you confirm the details before tapping the ‘send’ tab.
How to open a checking account
The first thing is to identify the best bank to open an account with for maximum benefit. Every bank has its terms and conditions that you must be aware of before committing yourself. Only people 18 years and above should open bank accounts.
Children can open bank accounts with their parents or guardians. Before starting the application process, you must have the following.
- A government identification document such as a driver’s license, Passport, Military ID, or National ID
- A Social Security Number (SSN)
- Physical address
- Phone number
You might have to provide other details such as email address and next of kin, among different kinds of information. You can open a checking account online by filling in the necessary information or visiting a physical branch to carry out the application process.
You should note that it is not automatic that your account opening will go through. Banks can deny you an ordinary account if you have a poor banking history. Two main bodies keep information about account holders’ banking behavior. These are ChexSystems and Early Warning Systems. Some of the reasons why you may have bad records with the bodies mentioned above are due to;
- Too many bouncing checks
- Committing bank fraud
- Failure to pay overdraft fees
- Negative account closure
However, some banks can allow you to open a second chance checking account with lots of limitations. Most second chance checking accounts do not have debit cards, and one may have limited access to their money. Furthermore, you might have to maintain a certain amount of balance in your account.
Can a checking account increase my credit scores?
A checking account alone does not affect your credit scores. However, if you have a credit card for your account, then you can grow your credit scores depending on how you use the credit card. There are two main kinds of credit cards which are secured and unsecured credit cards. Both can help you increase your scores.
Secured credit cards require you to deposit some money for security reasons. Such credit cards are for people with poor credit scores. An Unsecured credit card doesn’t require you to deposit money for security. People with good credit scores stand a higher chance of getting unsecured credit cards. However, there are credit cards for bad credit scores, although they come with high-interest rates.
Bottom line
You can send money instantly using a checking account number. In most cases, sending money is online using a smartphone or a computer. Instant money transfers can be domestic or international.
Some countries do not allow instant money transfers from other countries to confirm that the money is from a legitimate source or the sender has enough balance to stand for the transaction. Above all, online money transfer is generally safe.
