By now everyone in business who has any use for online banking should be using it. There's no excuse not to - the banks have realised that it would be better not to charge for something that saves them money.

It's possible to make bill payments at your computer and all sorts of other transactions for which only a couple of decades ago you'd have had to go out and do some walking.

This leads to the inevitable question of where internet banking will go next. Paul Tierney, senior manager of business e-channels for HSBC, points to a number of areas requested by customers. "We're looking at email services, and within the actual secure services we currently offer, we're looking at the ability to have web chat and real time."

At the Guardian Unlimited.

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