Piles of bank receipts aren't stacked in Brittany Fila's apartment.
Instead of holding on to them and waiting for the end-of-the-month statement, the social work senior turns to online banking to keep track of her finances. She matches up the receipts to her constantly updated online bank statement before throwing them away.
"It's not a routine," said Fila, who has banked online since 2002. "The point is I can do it anytime."
Now, more students like Fila are opting for trips to their laptops instead of their local banks.
In the last quarter of 2005, the number of online banking customers increased by 27 percent, according to comScore Networks, a surveyor of consumer behavior.
The MSU Federal Credit Union's Web site receives about 600,000 visits each month, a 50 percent increase in the last two years, said Joyce Banish, vice president of marketing.
"What's driving it more now is that campus is wireless," Banish said. "People can get online no matter where they are."
That easy accessibility is part of the reason for the boom during the last few years, bank experts said.
With a click of a mouse, students can transfer funds from their savings account to their checking account or put their money into a certificate to accumulate higher interest.
"(Before), people weren't comfortable with all this electronic stuff — now everybody uses it," said Gene Cooney, managing director of Atlanta-based CCI Consulting Inc., a banking consulting firm. "You can open a bank account and can keep it nearly forever without walking into a branch."
Still, the rise of online banking is not a sudden phenomenon.
The need for online consumer services has been building up for decades since the introduction of debit cards, ATMs and direct deposit, Cooney said.
However, the day when banks are rendered obsolete is not anytime in the future, he said.
Cooney pointed out that 15 years ago, when debit cards rose in popularity, some people predicted it would finish off banks. But now, in 2006, they're still here.
North Carolina-based Bank of America had 19.8 million people do online banking by the end of June, more than double its customers since 2003, said spokesperson Betty Riess.
"People really love the convenience," Riess said.
