Send Us Your Feedback ne benefit of E-commerce is that it takes paper out of the purchasing process. Citibank, the world's largest credit-card company with 30 million cardholders, will reach out to new customers through an alliance with America Online Inc., which will offer Citibank's c2it system at its online checkout counters.
Consumers also can transfer money from their bank accounts or have paper checks mailed out.
But since these go through the banking industry's automated clearinghouse settlement system, transactions will take two or three days to complete. By early next year, consumers will be able to use the service to send or receive money overseas or to pay bills online on the day they're due. The service expands the reach of Internet commerce by letting consumers who don't have credit cards pay for online purchases via bank transfers.