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[RETIRED] INTERACTIVE: Navigate Your Online Bank Account (Extended Version)

We have retired this resource. You may continue using it, but we are no longer monitoring or updating its content. Visit www.ngpf.org for newer resources.

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NGPF Activity Bank

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NGPF Activity Bank

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Step 1: Open up the Navigate Your Online Bank Account (Extended Version) Worksheet. Go to File → Make a Copy Rename your copy of the worksheet according to your teacher’s instructions. Go to the next slide to get started and answer the questions in the worksheet as you complete this activity.

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NGPF Activity Bank

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Here’s your starting scenario: Because you’re under 18, you and an adult family member spend a morning at the local bank opening your first checking and savings accounts. You want to start the New Year off right, so you open the accounts on January 1st with $500 split between checking and saving. While at the bank, the bank representative asks, “You don’t want to overdraw your account, do you?” You respond, “Of course not!” and sign your initials next to _____Accept Overdraft Protection.

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NGPF Activity Bank

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NGPF Activity Bank

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NGPF Activity Bank

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NGPF Activity Bank

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Here are some other key facts that you should be aware of as you complete the simulation:

Key Fact	Amount
Initial Checking Account Deposit	$250
Initial Savings Account Deposit	$250
Paycheck is directly deposited from your job into your Checking Account	$75 received every two weeks
You have two monthly bills: Cell phone data plan & Auto insurance to use family car	Data plan is $71/month Auto insurance is $112/month

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NGPF Activity Bank

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PART I: Set Up Your Online Account

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STEP 2:

Go to the NGPF OnlineBank Simulation and register for your online bank account by clicking CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT [in the upper right hand corner of the screen]. As you complete your profile, keep this in mind.

USERNAME: Be sure to select a username that you will remember!
PASSWORD: You don’t want hackers to drain your bank account so be sure to choose a password that is not obvious like “1234567” but a mix of upper and lowercase, special characters and numbers.
QUESTION 1 and QUESTION 2: Be sure you choose answers to the security questions that you will remember. These questions are often used as additional security to verify your identity.
ALERTS: DO NOT COMPLETE THE ALERTS SECTION. We will return to this section later.

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Step 3:

Once you click SUBMIT, you will LOG IN to your new account. View the dashboard of options for things you can do with online banking.

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There is a SIMULATION DATE option on the top right of your screen. It is very important that you follow the instructions when told to set a new SIMULATION DATE.

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Set date to JANUARY 01.

Click GO.

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PART II: Let’s Pay Some Bills

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Step 4:

One of the great conveniences of online banking is that you can pay bills directly from your online checking account!

BILL #1: Examine the cell phone bill provided and click PAY A BILL in the Simulation to make the payment. Click +ADD RECIPIENT. Then click the ADD RECIPIENT button on the MANAGE RECIPIENTS page. Fill out the fields in the pop-up using the information in the bill.

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Step 5:

Now you are ready to actually pay the bill. Click PAY A BILL and then select PAY A BILL again. Since you assume that your monthly bill with Horizon will remain constant, you choose “MONTHLY” for payment frequency. Before filling out the rest of the form, answer question 1 in your worksheet.

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Step 6:

Complete the remaining fields on the screen and click SUBMIT. (Helpful Hint: Be sure to include the last 4 digits of your account number in the memo field.)

Congrats! You just paid your first bill! Now, answer questions 2-4 in your worksheet.

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Step 7:

BILL #2: Your parents are also counting on you to pay your car insurance premium now that you are using the family car. Go through the same steps for Bill #1 to pay Bill #2. Go to the next slide to see the bill they asked you to take care of. (Note that you want to add the last four digits of your policy number to the memo.)

Remember to +ADD RECIPIENT for the insurance company as you did for the cell phone company. Then, PAY A BILL.

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Once you’ve paid bill #2, answer questions 5-6 in your worksheet.

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PART III: Examine Your Checking Account Activity

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Set date to FEBRUARY 3.

Click GO.

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Step 8:

You want to know whether your account balance is increasing or decreasing in your checking account.

Click ACCOUNT ACTIVITY, ACCOUNT ACTIVITY, then CHECKING. Take a few minutes to review the transactions that occurred in January.

Answer questions 7-14 in your worksheet as you examine your account activity.

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PART IV: Examine Your Savings Account Activity

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Step 9:

Remember that when you signed up for your bank account you set up both a Checking Account AND a Savings Account. Click ACCOUNT ACTIVITY, ACCOUNT ACTIVITY, then SAVINGS to review the transactions that occurred in January.

Again, you want to get a handle on whether your account is increasing or decreasing. To do so, answer questions 15-19 in your worksheet.

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PART V: Review Your Monthly Statements

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Step 10:

It’s always a good idea to review your account activity at least once a month to make sure your transactions are accurate.

Click ACCOUNT ACTIVITY, MONTHLY STATEMENT, and Checking. VIEW the January statement and answer questions 20-22 in your worksheet.

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PART VI: Mobile Deposits

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Step 11:

You just realized that your Checking Account is running low because you forgot to deposit a check for $50 that you received from your neighbor, Bobby Jones, for house-sitting and dog-sitting for a week! Luckily, you can quickly deposit your check using your bank’s app on your smartphone!

Click DEPOSIT CHECKS and follow the prompts to deposit the check in your Checking Account. For the front of your check, click the UPLOAD button and answer question 23 in your worksheet.

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Step 12: Click SUBMIT to finish depositing your check before moving on.

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Set date to FEBRUARY 15.

Click GO.

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Step 13:

View ACCOUNT ACTIVITY to see when the money from your deposited check reaches your Checking Account. Then, answer questions 24-25 in your worksheet.

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PART VII: Set Up Alerts

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You have now seen how money flows into and out of your account in a given month. It’s clear there is a lot of activity going on and so much to track. The good news is that there are alerts that you can set up so you know when your balances are running LOW.

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Step 14:

Click MANAGE PROFILE to set up your custom alerts. Think about your monthly spending habits and bills to help determine the amounts to enter for the alerts. Go to the bottom of the PROFILE page to set your alerts. Then, answer questions 26-28 in your worksheet.

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PART VIII: Transfer Money Between Accounts

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[Note: The following step does not reflect your current checking account balance.]

You receive a text notification from the bank that says:

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You’re worried that you may overdraw with less than $100 in your checking account. Luckily, online banking allows you to easily transfer money from your Savings Account to your Checking Account. You decide to transfer $50 from your Savings to your Checking Account on February 15th (which should be the current date on the Simulation).

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Step 15:

Click MAKE A TRANSFER and follow the prompts on the screen to transfer $50 FROM your Savings Account TO your Checking Account. Be sure to click SUBMIT. Then, answer question 29 in your worksheet.

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PART IX: Online Account Notifications

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Set date to MARCH 30.

Click GO.

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Step 16:

Let’s see what has been happening with your account -- click NOTIFICATION. Then, answer questions 30 and 31 in your worksheet.

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PART X: Manage Your Checking Account So It Does Not Manage You

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Step 17:

You have a hunch after receiving all of those Notifications that you might want to dive in deeper on your account. Let’s play detective and check out the ACCOUNT ACTIVITY for your Checking Account.

Helpful hint: Set this counter to 50 or higher on ACCOUNT ACTIVITY page to see earlier transactions

Then, answer questions 32-35 in your worksheet.

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PART XI: You Made It! What Did You Learn?

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Step 18:

Reflect on all that you’ve done in your online checking and savings accounts. Then, answer question 36 in your worksheet.