"We have many customers who are in the online banking section of our web site daily, and the number of our customers who bank online has grown each year," said  Kristin Nendza, support specialist at Leaders Bank, headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill.

The business trend is in line with the nation's digital progression: online banking is now the third-most performed online transaction among consumers, according to Nielsen Online.

"The functionality and flexibility of online banking helps our customers manage their business better. We want to make banking as convenient as possible," said Jim Lynch, CEO and president of Leaders Bank. "Since our establishment in 2000 to serve private business owners and entrepreneurs, online banking has been a key component of our service and strategy. Even then, the majority of our customers immediately took advantage of it."

Consider the ways that many businesses use Leaders ACH capability: it allows them to process payroll, pay bills online and control exactly when they want funds to go out. "Many customers enjoy having control features here at the bank, versus having to pay a utility bill or other bill at a website, and having that site pull the money from the account," Nendza explained.

A feature recently updated for Leaders customers is the bank's notification alert system. These alerts are customizable to the account-holder's parameters. For instance, a customer can receive an email if an account balance goes below a specified amount. The customer could also choose to receive notification when logging in to Leaders' website.

"Some alert templates are already set up in the system, such as for incoming wire transfers," Nendza said, "but there are many other different features and functionalities for which a customer can receive alerts."

For auditing purposes, many businesses also like to have dual authorization for a transaction. "Within our system, you can give one user the ability to set up a wire - without the ability to actually transmit it - and then you give someone else the ability to send it. That's a well-utilized protective feature," said Nendza.

Another cash management tool offering a measure of protection is Leaders' Positive Pay capability for fraud detection. With Positive Pay, a customer lets the bank know what checks they've issued. "The customer has the ability, if something doesn't appear right, to say ‘I didn't issue this item.'" Nendza said. Leaders' basic functionalities even allow business owners convenience and protection, such as the ability to perform stop-payments online, instead of having to fill something out and send it in.

While advanced features are a focus, there is also a priority on cutting-edge access measures to keep the Leaders website secure. "For cash management functions, we can set up individual user names within a company-wide login, and then you can have user-specific security questions," Nendza noted.

The security questions users must answer are encompassed in the bank's multi-factor authentification security, or MFA. Leaders Bank employs the highest level of MFA. "The first thing it examines is an Internet protocol address. If a customer registers those security questions on a business-located computer and then they go home or go on vacation and try to access the account, MFA prompts them to answer those questions," explained Nendza. "That's the first key factor that will trigger the questions to ensure the person logging in doesn't just have the login information, but that they know the answers to prove they're the authorized user." For ACH and wire transactions, before the system actually sends that information in to the bank, MFA also generates a security question.

"Our system is an attraction for customers," said Nendza. "Customers have said that the interface is very straightforward. With wire transfers, they note that the information needed is presented clearly and without an unnecessarily complicated set of fields."

"Our bankers often visit the customer's site to demonstrate the full range of online banking services and exactly what the business can accomplish," Lynch said. "We continuously plan site enhancements based on our customers' needs and technology advancements."