Is a VPN for banking safe to use?

Using a VPN for banking is perfectly safe and even more secure than dealing with transactions without it. A Virtual Private Network scrambles internet traffic with 256-bit encryption, making it practically impossible to decipher.

A VPN also secures the online environment (network) for accessing your banking account. However, some bank service providers might consider a sudden virtual location change a red flag. Luckily, you can connect to a home country server and retain an IP address near you.

TL;DR – Use a VPN for banking to further protect your financial transactions online. Connect to servers in your home country to guarantee access to local bank providers. Atlas VPN offers 750 servers in 38 countries: find out whether we have your location!

Dangers of online banking

Online banking can mean accessing your bank account, initiating transactions, and checking bank statements. Naturally, such banking activities are highly confidential and require superior security. Additionally, more trojans seem to target mobile banking than ever before.

Besides using a VPN for banking, account holders should pay attention to other factors:

• Banking site encryption.
• Firewalls.
• Device or endpoint security.
• Firewalls.
• Fraud monitoring.

Furthermore, specific industry standards guide bank providers to guarantee that clients can access and manage their finances safely:

• Automatic logout after several minutes of inactivity is a regulatory requirement for banks.
• Two-factor authentication means bank providers should challenge clients with multiple steps to verify their identity.
• Electronic signature verification is also a way to authenticate users further.
• Account monitoring for suspicious activity means banks look for signals indicating unauthorized access to accounts.

A VPN for online banking is nothing if a bank service provider does not implement all these security measures. However, banking activities are more susceptible to attacks on public Wi-Fi or unknown networks. Overall, the number of financial fraud reports increase every year. Thus, users must be highly vigilant.

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VPN for banking: how does it work?

A VPN for banking is an application that reroutes traffic through remote servers and encrypts it. VPNs are famous for protecting users’ online activities, data exchanges, and location details.

When it comes to banking, a VPN is particularly useful for ensuring several things:

• A VPN for banking protects your login details from getting exposed due to unsecured networks and connections.
• A VPN can also be useful in accessing bank service providers when traveling abroad.
• VPN protection also guards users against man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks.

How do MitM attacks threaten online banking?

Banks follow a range of security requirements to counter MitM attacks. For instance, transaction data signing follows three steps.

• Clients verify the transaction details, like the receiver and the amount. Then, a generated authentication code links to the transaction data. Therefore, no changes are permissible after this generation.
• While confirming the transaction, clients should always see the code and transaction data.
• This protection ensures that no unauthorized changes occur and clients know what transaction they authorize.

A VPN for banking can uplift the protection against MitM attacks. It safeguards you by encrypting data and ensuring that hackers do not get valuable data.

But is VPN safe for online banking?

A VPN for banking is generally safe as long as you choose a respectable provider. However, some VPNs can put your activities (including banking) at risk either unintentionally or deliberately.

Are free VPNs always bad?

Free VPNs are infamous for engaging in questionable dealings or offering low-quality protection. Maintaining VPN servers, employees, and infrastructure translates into considerable financial burdens.

Thus, choose a VPN with a stable income source, like Atlas VPN with its freemium model. However, while any free VPN for banking tends to be more suspicious, the market can have pleasant exceptions.

Here is what to pay attention to when choosing a VPN provider:

• Read reviews from trusted experts and former or current users.
• Pay a visit to VPN providers’ privacy policies and terms of use documents.
• If available, sign up for a free trial or reap the benefits of 30-day money-back guarantees.
• See what encryption protocols VPN providers use. It should choose modern VPN protocols and robust encryption, like AES 256-bit.

Overall, be it a free or paid VPN for banking, check whether its server networks and encryption work as intended.

When is a VPN for banking essential?

You might not actively use a VPN service around the clock. However, it is best to connect to a server under the following circumstances:

• Join secure VPN networks when going online through public Wi-Fi. Free Wi-Fi networks are unpredictable as you do not know what security measures it uses. Luckily, you can combat potential dangers by encrypting traffic and rerouting it through secure paths.
• Protect online transactions and other activities anytime. Banks go to great lengths to guarantee the security of clients’ accounts. However, the open nature of the internet makes each digital transaction unpredictable. A VPN for banking adds another layer of protection that hackers need to knock down.
• Get more security on mobile banking apps. According to a study in 2021, 77% of financial apps contain vulnerabilities potentially facilitating data leaks. Thus, connecting to a VPN for banking can put another security wall if hackers try to exploit such vulnerabilities.

How to choose a VPN server?

A VPN for banking is a unique use case, just like video streaming or regular browsing. It also influences your server selection.

In this case, choose servers nearby, preferably in your home country. It prevents geo-locks or other interruptions when accessing your bank account. Of course, you are welcome to connect to other servers.

Possible issues when using a VPN for banking

Sometimes, using a VPN for banking could trigger a response from your bank service. Banks might find it suspicious if you connect to your local bank account from across the world.

These tips should help you use VPN protection regardless of the server you choose:

• Try using a different browser or clearing the cache on your preferred program.
• Switch to a different VPN protocol.
• Temporarily disable SafeBrowse or similar ad blockers.
• Connect to a VPN server in your country if the issue persists.

More tips for safe online banking

Protect your banking information from unauthorized access or attempts to intercept transactions with the following recommendations.

• Review your bank providers’ security measures. You should check whether your bank provider uses appropriate and industry-standard security practices.
• Install reliable and robust antivirus software. Keep your operating systems safe by using top-notch security programs.
• Keep authentication data secure. You might need unique codes to perform transactions or log into your bank account. Store such private information in secure locations like password managers.
• Activate push notifications or SMS alerts from banks. Bank service providers can send updates on transactions made to and from your account. Enable this option to notice potentially suspicious activities as soon as possible.

Atlas VPN for banking and other activities

You can freely use Atlas VPN for banking thanks to its robust encryption protocols and wide server selection. We use AES-256 encryption to prevent internet traffic from getting decrypted.

For tunneling security, we offer IPSec/IKEv2 and WireGuard® protocols. You can conveniently switch between them through Atlas VPN settings.

WireGuard® is a registered trademark of Jason A. Donenfeld.

Furthermore, we offer 750 servers in more than 40 locations. Thus, you will likely find a server in your home country.