In the space of a few years the internet has revolutionised the way the majority of us do our banking. Most banks and building societies offer their internet services 24 hours per day, meaning that even those leading the most unconventional of lifestyles can access banking at their convenience. Wherever you live in the UK, loans, current accounts, and mortgages can all be bought and administered online.

Ever since the advent of the internet, businesses have been searching for ways to use it in innovative, safe and secure ways hoping that it will offer more opportunities to drive business and increase profits. That includes banks which have often been at the forefront of internet technology in the search for a cheaper and more efficient way of doing business with their customers. Although they are unlikely to risk outrage by completely eliminating their branch networks, many high street banks would prefer the majority of customers to transact their business online. That is because it is by far the most profitable channel for the financial institutions.

And certainly from a customer's point of view there are many good reasons to do your banking online. It's extremely convenient plus you don't have to go cap in hand to the local bank manager if you want to arrange any form of borrowing, and risk the embarrassment of being turned down. Now all that is required is a click of the mouse, whether it's to submit an application for a short-term extension to an overdraft, or to apply for one of the many longer-term personal loans, all are available on the internet.

Indeed, the internet is rapidly becoming the number one place for applying for personal loans, and more people are regularly doing their banking online with payments association APACS reporting a 174% rise in numbers over the past year. Their figures show the greatest rise in usage coming from the over-55s with a 350% rise over last year. That ties in to a drop in reported online fraud as users become savvy to the most obvious phishing scams, and banks improve their education of users and tighten their own online protection.

Online comparison sites have also become extremely popular with the online community. They have made significant in-roads into the financial markets and potential customers can go there to compare loans, credit cards or even mortgages all on one website, without the need to do any of the hard work themselves. With everything required to cover all banking needs online, it is easy to see why it has become so popular.

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