At first there was Telebank Direct and Telebank Terminals. They were joined by Telebank Electronic Mail and Talking Telebank - a service that facilitates communication with the bank’s "talking computer" to obtain information by pressing the telephone number pad keys. Now there is Telebank Online - Discount Bank’s Internet services. They too are still waiting for approval.
What made the banks turn to the Internet? A survey by Jupiter, New York shows that the traditional banks have been forced to enter the electronic field immediately, before electronic trading companies, that are not among the banks’ traditional competitors, come into this rapidly growing area and conquer it. In 1996, 2.5 million households obtained their banking services via the Internet. The projection was that, by the end of 1997, this number would grow to 4.5 million, and that by the year 2002 there would be 18 million households connected to Internet banking.
About 70 banks around the world already offer their services on the ‘Net, and their number is growing fast. At the beginning of the year, the projection was for 600 online banks by the year 2000, but it already appears that this estimate is too conservative.