The relationship we have with money and finances is determined by many factors: upbringing and education; family, friends and relationships; even culture and ethnicity. Different behaviour towards saving and spending are visible in the ING International Surveys we conduct regularly.

Money management is personal. Each one of us has a different approach that is influenced by the external factors mentioned above and by our own individual drivers (professional and personal ambitions, security and risk-taking, etc.). And yet four years ago, as we developed alerts through My ING, we discovered that all types of clients were interested by the feature. And the same is true now that the alerts are available in push format on your smartphones.

It's actually not that surprising. From the control freaks who know with 100% certainty every cent that goes in and out of their accounts, to the most laid back account holders, all money-savvy clients want the following from financial notifications:

- time is money: notifications must be timely or near-instantaneous;

- clear and easy: the content of the notification (amounts, dates) must be sufficient to make use of it without requiring a login to your digital banking;

- responsible: discretion is a must in money management; the information is for you and only you.

In our testing, knowing when a standing order has been debited from your account proved to be useful for clients who closely monitor their financial activity (i.e. those who already expected the order to be debited) as a confirmation, and it was also of value for clients who have a relaxed approach to their finances (i.e. understand their general budget but don't actively check in and out entries) and perceived the alert as a convenient reminder.

Whether low balances, large transfers, activity on a credit card or incoming messages, everyone profits from alerts. The more you understand your financial activity, the better you become at money management - avoiding fees, making smart investment choices and having peace of mind.

I believe banking doesn't have to be difficult and time consuming. You can be good at money without logging in to your digital banking or even email account - with push notifications!