The convenience of sitting in your home or office and getting simple banking tasks done is what has increased the use of internet banking. As net banking practices are becoming more secure, more people are willing to opt for the service. The brick and mortar set up is taking a backseat and a lot of simple day-to-day banking operations are already done online. Gone are the days of the elders in the family going to the neighborhood bank for all the requirements. The norm now is to be able to transact at the click of a button. With internet and even phone banking catching on, the bank is just a screen page. Payment of bills, checking balances, transferring funds, ordering cheque books or even making fixed deposits, all these transactions are made online more than at the branch.

The internet exploded in India in 1990 and from then onwards banks have offered their clients an interesting and increasing number of services that are available online. The first tentative steps led to more innovative and expansive services being offered online. The future of online banking makes the virtual bank or online bank seem like a reality today. But where banking was once all about relationships and trust, it is now all about passwords and customer login IDs.

The biggest advantage of online banking is the convenience of the customer. With everybody being busy all the time, the convenience that net banking affords is what draws customers to it. The bank is available 24/7 and 365 days of the year. This makes it possible for the super busy customer to keep up with his banking needs as per his schedule and time table. The other factor that influences the use of net banking is mobility. The customer can be in any part of the world but he has the option of making his transactions from his destination. With more and more people travelling for work and pleasure this is an absolute requirement of the day we live in. Net banking and phone banking make this a possibility.

The only drawback of net banking however is security. There is an increasing trend towards net banking fraud cases where the login and password of the customer are obtained illegally and the same is then used for the fraud. This is the one fear that is keeping some customers totally away from the services offered online. Some transactions are not possible through the net banking mode. International transactions as well as altering of the banking instructions are not possible online yet, and require the customer to physically visit the bank. While net banking is seen with a bit of scepticism it is being used more often by various customers. It is safe to say that internet banking is here to stay.