RESULTS. A SHIFT FROM IN-PERSON BANKING TO BANKING ON PHONES THROUGH AN APP HAS LED TO A RAPID RISE IN DIGITAL ONLY BANKING SERVICES, CONSUMER REPORTS LOOKS AT WHICH BANKING APPS YOU CAN BANK ON AND WHEN YOU NEED THEM, DEPOSITING CHECKS, TRANSFERRING FUNDS, PAYING BILLS. GONE ARE THE DAYS OF HAVING TO GO TO A PHYSICAL BRANCH TO DO ANY OF THOSE CHORES. NOW THEY CAN BE DONE ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. USING AN APP. IN A RECENT SURVEY, CONSUMER REPORTS FOUND THREE OUT OF FOUR AMERICANS USE ONE OR MORE BANKING APPS. WHICH APPS ARE THE BEST? WE EVALUATED THESE APPS FOR SAFETY, PRIVACY, TRANSPARENCY, SUPPORT FOR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING, AND ACCESSIBILITY. SEE OUR EXPERTS LOOKED AT THE APPS OF FIVE LARGE TRADITIONAL BANKS AND FIVE ONLINE ONLY DIGITAL BANKING PROVIDERS. IF AVOIDING FEES IS ESSENTIAL TO YOU WHEN LOOKING FOR A NEW BANKING SERVICE, A DIGITAL BANK MAY BE YOUR BEST BET, BUT THERE IS A TRADEOFF. WE FOUND THAT MOST OF THE DIGITAL BANKING PROVIDERS OFFERED CONSUMERS FREE CHECKING AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, AND TENDED TO PROVIDE HIGHER INTEREST RATES ON THE OTHER HAND, WE FOUND THAT TRADITIONAL BANKS OFFERED MORE FEATURES AND TOOLS TO HELP YOU BUDGET AND SAVE WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTING YOUR DATA, ALL THE APPS HAVE FLAWS, SOME MORE SERIOUS THAN OTHERS. MOST OF THESE APPS TEND TO SHARE MORE DATA THAN WHAT IS NEEDED. WHILE ONLY SOME OF THE BANKING APPS ALLOW YOU TO OPT OUT OF TARGETED ADVERTISING, NO MATTER WHAT APP YOU CHOOSE, BANKING SECURELY IS IMPORTANT. USE FACE ID OR A SIX DIGIT PIN TO UNLOCK YOUR PHONE AND ON THE APP ITSELF, ENABLE TWO FACTOR OR MULTIFACTOR AUTHENTICATION. IF YOU LOSE YOUR PHONE, ALERT YOUR BANK RIGHT AWAY. CONSUMER REPORTS ALSO RECOMMENDS YOU ALLOW THE APP TO SEND YOU NOTIFICATIONS FOR EVERY WITHDRAWAL OR DEPOSIT MADE