Clicking all the way to the bank

Electronic banking has been around for quite a few years now. It has gradually become an acceptable (and in many cases preferable) way for both business and consumers to manage their finances. Despite various successes and failures over the last couple of decades, it’s probably safe to say that most users are beyond any irrational fear of the unknown and so are quite happy to use the internet to gain access to their bank account.

Logically then, an ancillary sub-universe of financial applications has arisen to help us control our finances and keep track of the dirhams, dollars and pounds along the way.

The key words here are “automation” and “management” i.e. once we feed our financial particulars into an application, we end up with a tool designed to register, remember and track our financial position at any single moment in time. While you are busy picking up the kids from school or learning to play the guitar (or whatever you fill your time with), the right app can play the role of dedicated financial consultant, to some degree at least.

Any use of financial software applications obviously throws up the question of security. The more personal details we share with an app, the greater the level of risk we create if any security vulnerabilities surface that could potentially see our data compromised. For this reason users need to approach this area of software application usage with care and caution. It is extremely important to remember than ANY application or data platform can be (and in many cases has been) hacked or been subject to so-called phishing scams, malware, worms, Trojans other Internet borne nastiness.

At the most basic level, financial apps exist to help plan savings targets and expenditure plans. More sophisticated financial apps will monitor a user’s expense budget, and even pay electronic billing services automatically. Other apps feature tax calculators, pensions planning functions, and many variants of mortgage and savings related tools.

If you’ve been suppressing your inner “Gordon Gecko” Wall Street character and want to start playing the global financial markets then Boursorama could be a good place to start. This Windows app is free direct from the App Store and, admittedly, it feels kind of fun even if you aren’t just about to put down half a million on frozen orange juice or some other tradable commodity. A ticking clock lets you know how many minutes remain until the markets open and there are live updates to interest rates, currencies and shares. Install it and leave it on your screen when you go to lunch so you can impress your friends if nothing else.

Desktop app

It’s hard to recommend a downloadable currency exchange application to sit on your desktop when the online app offering from XE (xe.com) is just so perfectly formed. Many users will no doubt have already come across this site, which behaves much a fully blown desktop app. The dropdown “Tools” menu right at the top of the page will provide you with historical rate tables, a travel expenses calculator and even a personal currency assistant. You can download XE as an app in its own right on just about every platform from Android, to iPad, to BlackBerry to variants of Windows 7 and 8 — but unless you stay online when you use it, you will be using exchange rates only as current as the last time you were online.

So high finance and currencies aside, there are plenty of apps to serve the home user with personal expense tools designed to make your life easier. Apps such as Where’s My Money on Windows or HomeBudget Lite on the Apple Mac operating system will help you build charts and reports to help you “visualise” your money situation — and no, you don’t need to be a computer programmer or a mathematics whizz to operate these apps, they are made for the man or woman in the street.

Other apps to try out in this sector are Mint for Android and iOS. This app provides you with a central repository for tracking all your accounts and its visual graphs are easy to navigate around. Manilla Bills and Reminders is a good app for (guess what) keeping track of all your bills and reminding you when you need to pay what. This app exists as a free download for Android and iOS and works with a calendar system so you will never forget what you owe to who. Business travellers are well served with a huge range of expenses related apps in this area, Expensify is noteworthy (and free) among many also rans if you want to analyse where all that corporate travel and lunch money is being spent.

Many banks will have their own dedicated apps and the Emirates and the rest of the Gulf is as progressive as any other world region in this category. Key aspects to look for in your banking application are security first and foremost i.e. look for not just the http protocol name in the website “URL” at the top of your internet browser, but check to ensure that you are using an https empowered site, with the additional S denoting a Secure layer. So get online, get banking, get clicking and get your money better organised, but remember S for security throughout please.

Adrian Bridgwater is a freelance journalist who specializes in software applications, gadgets and games.