Development of online banking
Today when it comes to banking most people never actually see money exchange hands, what they do see is a bank deposit slip or a virtual payslip. Thirty years ago when a cheque was issued by an employer, the cheque would be deposited into an actual bank account at an actual bank and sometimes even exchanged for the actual sum physical cash amount. However, this is no longer the case as most people have their pay automatically direct deposited into bank accounts so the money exchange is never actually physical.
This is an example of the virtual banking world that now exists in most people’s lives. Instead of using physical bank branches, most people never even set foot in one unless they are switching account details or trying to apply for credit or a mortgage, and very often not even under those circumstances.
While banks play a central role in the exchange of money, they are no longer a place that most people visit. Instead, bank websites are where people go to see their updated accounts and deposits as well as to track their spending.
Money flows from one to another in a digital form and flows out of people’s hands in the same manner via their ATM and other cards. In fact, the closest that people ever get to a bank is usually when they go to get money from a cash point, which may or may not be located at their banking institution, so banking now has a completely different meaning even compared to a decade ago.
