Internet Banks

Americans love everything to be quick and easy. That's not a surprise because people really need to cope with the fast-paced world. Times have changed and today, every second counts and every dollar matters. It is now very difficult to find time to go to the bank, fall in line for what seems like a lifetime and wait for the teller to tell you that your transaction has been successfully made. This is exactly why online banking became a hit in the United States. It is easy, fast, efficient and above all, convenient.

Americans are trying to leave the traditional brick-and-mortar banks for Internet banks. Why not? If you can do business and make transactions in the comfort of your home or at the office, why would you physically go to a bank? Indeed, after almost a decade of creating, building and enhancing web-based capabilities, online banking in the US is enjoying tremendous popularity among a large base of customers within and beyond the country's borders. In fact, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project released in 2004, approximately 53 million Americans make banking transactions online. That's one in every four adults.

As one adage goes, however, every opportunity comes with threats. Many Internet users are still apprehensive to trust web-based financial institutions in terms of security. True enough, there have been conspicuous reports of identity theft, phishing scams and other fraudulent acts. However, one survey reveals that only 40 percent of Americans with bank accounts do not use online services. We can see how much Americans enjoy online banking just by looking at the number of Internet banks mushrooming left and right.

Many of American Internet banks are online subsidiaries of a much bigger standard bank. For example, one of the most successful is the online arm of Wells Fargo, a traditional banking giant. Other excellent examples are Citibank and the Bank of America. Some are newly founded full online banking institutions such as the Bank of Internet, Century Bank Direct, UmbrellaBank.com and VirtualBank.