E-Statements

Photo:

Susan Graves

You’ve probably been hearing about E-statements and may be wondering what they are, how they work and if there are any benefits to using E-statements.

E-statements are electronic versions of your current and prior account statements. There are many benefits for consumers when they choose to receive E-statements, beginning with security.

Paper statements can be lost or misplaced or fall into the wrong hands. Having a paper statement mailed to your house means having your confidential account information sitting in your mailbox while you’re at work or traveling.

The way that E-statements generally work is that most Credit Unions and Banks will notify you via email that your new E-statement is available. You will be required to log into an online banking account that you created, with a user id and password.

You will then be able to view your E-statement online, save it to your computer or print out a copy if you wish. Your E-statement will look exactly like the mailed statement you are accustomed to receiving.

Some additional benefits of E-statements are that you will be able to review your statements online at any time from any computer; E-statements are often available days before a paper statement would arrive in the mail; typically you have the ability to look at the past 12 months of statements online at anytime.

It’s difficult to generalize about what all Credit Unions and Banks offer for online security, but it is a good practice to familiarize yourself with the security features to protect your financial privacy.

Most financial institutions offer E-statements at no cost to you and if you decide at anytime you would rather receive your account statement via U.S. Postal Service, all you need to do is notify your Credit Union or Bank to begin receiving paper statements again.

You will need to contact your financial institution to find out if they offer all of these benefits to help you make the decision if E-statements are right for you. Many people find that using E-statements is a faster more convenient way to do their banking.

This information is provided by Oxford Federal Credit Union as general information, and is not intended as financial advice. If you have a financial question you would like answered email it to marketer@ofcu.org.