A virtual bank is a bank with a very small or inexistent branch system. It offers its financial services by: Banker redirects here; see wiktionary:banker for more meanings. ... Bank of America branch in Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, California A branch, banking centre or financial centre is a retail location where a bank or financial institution offers a wide array of face to face service to its customers. ...

• telephone banking
• online banking
• automated teller machines (often through interbank network alliances)
• mail banking

By eliminating the costs associated with retail banking, virtual banks may offer higher interest rates and lower service charges on their savings accounts than their competitors. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Online banking (or Internet banking) is a term used for performing transactions, payments etc. ... An NCR interior, multi-function ATM in the USA Smaller indoor ATMs dispense money inside convenience stores and other busy areas, such as this off-premise Wincor Nixdorf mono-function ATM in Sweden An on-premise NCR interior, multi-function through-the-wall ATM at a CIBC branch in Canada... An interbank network, also known as an ATM consortium or ATM network, is a network that connects the ATMs of different banks and permits these ATMs to interact with the ATM cards of non-native banks. ... Mail banking is a service provided by a financial institution which allows its customers to deposit cheques into their account by mail. ... According to investopedia. ... Savings deposits are accounts maintained by banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and mutual savings banks that pay interest but can not be used directly as money. ...

History

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Traditional banking was revolutionized with the commercialization of the internet in the early 1990s. As internet became more and more accessible to the common man on the street, banks began to realize the potential of the internet to deliver services to their customers. Added to the fact that it was cheaper in the long run, traditional banks initially started to offer limited services via the internet. Image File history File links Information_icon. ... Shortcut: WP:WIN Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia and, as a means to that end, also an online community. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOV Wikipedia policy is that all articles should be written from a neutral point of view. ... Shortcut: WP:RULES Wikipedia is a collaborative project and its founders and contributors have a common goal: Wikipedia has some policies and guidelines that help us to work toward that common goal. ...

Buoyed by the initial success of internet banking, some pioneers took the idea to a whole new level – an internet-only bank or a virtual bank. They hoped to pass on the savings of not having a traditional banking infrastructure to their customers – higher interest rates on savings and lower interest rates on loans. The idea caught on and it was a huge success.

The world’s first fully functional virtual bank was the “Security First Network Bank” (SFNB) which began operations on October 18, 1995. Based at Atlanta, Georgia, USA, it was the first virtual bank to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). After three years of operation, it was acquired by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Though SFNB did not make much profit in the initial years, it proved to the world that the concept of virtual banking works just fine and was here to stay. The Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY, NYSE: RY) is Canadas largest chartered bank. ...

Europe’s first full-service virtual bank was “First-e” launched by Enba, a Dublin-based company under the banking license of Banque d’Escompte, France. First launched in the UK in late September 1999, it garnered appreciable attention, resulting in more such ventures all over Europe. After about two years of operations, it shut down its operations during the dot-com bubble bust. Though “Egg Bank”, launched earlier in October 1998 by Prudential, was touted to be a virtual bank, it was not a full-service virtual bank, initially. But Egg Bank was a huge success unlike First-e.

Asia’s first virtual bank was “finatiQ” – a division of the Bank of Singapore. It opened its virtual doors on April 3, 2000 (though the public launch was on April 18, 2000), heralding the arrival of virtual banking in Asia.

List of virtual banks

• AmTrust Direct, a division of Ohio Savings Bank (United States)
• AXA Banque (France)
• Citi Direct, a division of Citibank (United States)
• Citizens Bank (Canada)
• Emigrant Direct, a division of Emigrant Bank (United States)
• HSBC Direct, a division of HSBC (United States)
• ING Direct (worldwide)
• Manulife Bank (Canada)
• mBank, a division of BRE Bank SA (Poland)
• Inteligo, a division of PKO BP S.A. (Poland)
• mbanx, a division of Bank of Montreal; now defunct (Canada)
• Openbank (Spain)
• President's Choice Financial (Canada)
• Rabobank (Belgium, The Netherlands)
• VirtualBank (United States)
• USAA (United States)

AXA (Euronext: CS, NYSE: AXA) is a French insurance company and the world largest insurance company with its 189 000 employees and 122 billions dollars of revenues in 2004. ... Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. ... Citizens Bank of Canada is a British Columbia, Canada based internet bank insured by the CDIC that was started in 1997. ... Emigrant Savings Bank was founded in 1850 by 18 members of the Irish Emigrant Society and is the oldest savings bank in New York City. ... HSBC Bank USA N.A., the United States subsidiary of the HSBC Holdings plc, is a bank with its head office in New York City. ... ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING, Euronext: INGA) (known as ING Group) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ... The Manulife Bank of Canada was founded by the Manufacturer’s Life Insurance Company of Canada or Manulife Canada on January 1, 1993, by merging Cabot Trust Company, Huronia Trust Company, and the Regional Trust Company. ... mBank- is the most popular virtual bank in Poland, a division of BRE Bank. ... PKO Bank Polski, Spółka Akcyjna (PKO BP S.A.) is Polands largest bank. ... mbanx (ads used the logotype form mbanx), later BMO mbanx Direct, is a Canadian virtual bank that has operated as a division of Bank of Montreal since October 1996. ... Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO, NYSE: BMO) is Canadas fourth largest bank[1], and is classified as a Domestic Chartered Bank (Schedule I). ... Openbank is an online bank of Banco Santander and therefore part of Grupo Santander. ... President’s Choice Financial is a financial institution that offers banking services through a joint venture between Loblaws (a supermarket chain) and CIBC (a major Canadian bank). ... Rabobank is a Dutch cooperative banking institution with offices all over the world, although primarily in the Netherlands. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... VirtualBank and Lydian Bank & Trust are the banking divisions of Lydian Private Bank. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

See also

• Online Savings Account