In spite of the public's underwhelming response to online finance, the sector is competitive. The repeal opened the door for insurance companies to offer banking products, for instance, and for E-Trade to get into banking. And the logical place for many companies to go is online, where, at least in the financial-services arena, there are few market leaders. Those that want to play the Internet game first must find a way to attract and keep customers. By comparison, only 12 percent of customers who tried online trading later dropped out.
Adoption is much, much greater with online brokerage services than with online banking.
The main message is that the banks have not done a very good job going online. And because online financial services are largely paralleled by offline banks, customers haven't exactly been pounding down the door urging banks to get their online act together. But as more people come online, there will no doubt be an upswing in services. That's because, like the IRS and meter maids, personal finance is one of those things we all have to deal with at some point. Deutsche Banc Alex.