All high street banks offer online banking and some banks are exclusively online with no high street branches.
Services
A customer with access to online banking can:
check their bank balance
view/print current and previous bank statements
pay bills online, ie setup direct debits and standing orders
setup new, separate accounts for specific purposes, eg savings
transfer money between their accounts and to other people's
Customer benefits
Convenience - banking when it suits them, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from any computer with an internet connectionA connection to the internet by a computer or another internet-enabled device..
Higher interest rates - savings banks make through reduced staffing, fewer premises and increased automation mean they can offer higher interest rates.
Increased market awareness - visit all the banks and find out what interest rates they offer online.
Customer concerns
The closure of small, local branches or reductions in opening hours.
The security of online banking, specifically hackingGaining unauthorised access to a computer. and credit card fraud.
Staffing reductions.
As banking becomes increasingly reliant on technology these concerns are set to increase.