Sneaky marketing tricks from the world of High Street banking have already made the transfer to cyberspace. Small print, exclusions and onerous conditions mean that many of these new-generation banking accounts do not live up to the marketing hype. Consumers can get better-value deals on the Net than are available on the High Street. But they need to be prepared to shop around with care. This shows what an account pays over 12 months, allowing for bonuses or special offers.
Savers also have understandable worries about security.
Barclays' high-profile troubles over the summer, when Internet customers were able to see each other's account details, have not helped build confidence. However, banking on the Net remains far more secure than using a credit card to buy theatre tickets. Barclays says it uses the latest encryption technology, which is designed to prevent third parties from eavesdropping on Internet transactions. It say users must take responsibility for securing their own computers, for instance, by always making sure they log off and clear the cache in their browsers, so that their passcodes and other information cannot be seen by others. Its problem appears to have been an internal one in its own network servers.