5 ways to check your bank account balance

Posted by Felix Okoli on Tuesday April 21, 2015 at 10:31:2:

If you are in Nigeria and have a bank account, I believe that one of the things you've most queried your bank for is your bank balance. How much is my balance? How much money is in my account.

Nigerians need to know how much money they really have in their account for various reasons. Some of those reasons include knowing if a credit has been made to their account, knowing if they have sufficient balance before making a transaction or just to have a feeling of control over their money.

Nigerians banks normally provide customers with their account balances for almost free on request since they are running a service and would want their customers to keep patronizing them by keeping money in their account. If your bank doesn't give you access to your account balance for any reason, it's normally a wise thing to stop banking with that bank.

I've had a bank account for a while and I've noticed that there are more than just one way to know how much money is in your account. Modern day banks in Nigeria have even revolutionized this simple service with some providing access to account balances through social media.

It doesn't really matter if your bank account is a savings or a current account as you can have access to your balance or bank statement in a variety of ways.

Here a 5 ways through which you can check your account balance in Nigeria:
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1. Physical visit to Customer service: This is the most common and oldest form of checking one's account balance. It normally involves making a physical visit to your bank, going to customer service, providing your account number and asking for your balance. Infact, they do have a printed slip where you can enter your account balance and make a signature before requesting for your balance. Note that you have to be the owner of the account before making that request as they don't normally give account balances to third parties.

2. SMS: Banks now use SMS to send account balances to her customers in various ways such as SMS alerts for transactions on the account. Some banks also allow customers to make use of SMS to request for their balance using special codes. The SMS method is not normally free with SMS alerts costing as much as N4 per use and SMS queries costing more.

3. ATM: Using an Automated Teller Machine is another way through which Nigerians check their account balance. It basically involves using an ATM capable card on the machine and making a request for free to check one's account balance. It is normally for free and all it involves is vising a closeby ATM, slotting the card, entering a 4 digit PIN and requesting for the account balance. The balance will be displayed on the screen on the ATM with the option of getting it printed on a small piece of paper. However, most ATMs in Nigeria nowadays don't really offer printed statements since their normal excuse is that there is no paper. This method is good but should be used in secure places and not in crowded places where people may be easily able to view your screen.

4. Internet banking: This is one method I like as I can do this from home or office as long as I have an internet connection. To get started, one has to first of all request for the service at your bank by filling an internet banking application form and submitting it with your email address. A username and password will be sent to your email address with instructions on how to activate your account. You will then be able to log into your account, change your password and be able to check your account statement and balance on the internet anytime you want. It's not normally recommended to log into your internet banking account when using a public internet service like at a cafe since you can be hacked. It works best when used with a private internet connection.

5. Phone call: You can also check your account balance by making a phone call to your bank. You should do this with your registered phone number so as to save you time. When you make the call, you will need to provide your bank account number and answer some personal questions before your balance will be given to you. This may cost you money when using you own phone but it can be convenient as you can do it from almost anywhere there is a network.