How the Internet will affect banking is one of the most intriguing questions in the ongoing evolution of the U.S. banking industry. Internet banking gives customers the ability to access virtually any type of banking service (the main exception for now being cash) in any place and at any time. If customers adopt this new way of banking in large numbers, banks may be able to shed much of their investment in expensive brick and mortar branches. But Internet banking remains a work in progress, and for many U.S. banks the initial Internet experience has been disappointing.
Chicago Fed Letter,
No. 163,
March
2001
The Internet's Place in the Banking Industry