With any Online Investment the ability to deposit or withdraw funds quickly is crucial. Historically bank wires were expensive and took a long time to complete. Has technology changed all that?

When I first started online investing I was adamant that I wouldn’t use Bank Wires as I felt they were too expensive and too slow. So, for most of my programmes I have used the various payment processors that have been set up to facilitate these types of transaction.

However, even this option has not been that trouble free as some services have failed at crucial times. Also, more of them are introducing charges to receive funds which means you have to think carefully about the sum to deposit to ensure you cover the cost.

Of course it is easy to generalise and say that none of them provide an efficient and economical service which would be the wrong thing to do. Some provide excellent customer service and are very efficient but you still have to weigh that against the extra steps needed to get funds from and to your personal account.

Time for a re-think

Recently I’ve had cause to step back and think about whether I should reconsider bank wires as my main vehicle for deposits and withdrawals. Two online programmes that I’ve had investments with have reported problems with specific payment processors which clearly creates concern when moving funds.

So, when I wanted to make a deposit to another programme I went back to my bank and initiated a bank wire. Doing this directly with a customer service representative made the whole operation very easy. Yes, it did cost me to do this but at the end of the day I know I will recoup these costs pretty quickly with the returns I get. So, for this transaction it was a good choice.

Not suitable for every situation

Clearly this wouldn’t work with small amounts and I’d suggest that $500 would be the minimum you’d want to contemplate when considering a bank wire but at least you know that it will get to where it’s going and given the new electronic banking systems it can be there pretty quickly as well.

It’s always worth keeping an open mind on any decision you make. Time and Technology may well create an environment where your original decision needs to be modified.