As neo and challenger banks disrupt the digital banking space , we track the timeline of online services from the late 90s to today

COMPUTERISED BANKING The first home banking service was offered to consumers in December 1980 by United American Bank , a community bank with headquarters in Knoxville , Tennessee , United American partnered with Radio Shack to produce a secure custom modem for its TRS-80 computer , allowing bank customers to access their account information securely

UK CATCHES UP The Bank of Scotland became the first bank in the UK to embrace the innovative technology needed for remote capabilities . Their customers were provided with an internet banking service called Homelink . People had to connect to the internet through their TVs and telephones to pay bills and transfer money . The connectivity was slow and unreliable – but the disruptive potential of this new ‘ telebanking ’ service was instantly recognised .

NEW YORK CITY ROLLOUT New York City was the second place to test out the provision of remote services . Four of its top banks – namely Citibank , Chase Manhattan , Chemical Bank and Manufacturers Hanover – made homebanking access available to their customers as a further test pilot programme , aiming to see if the initiative would take off .

16 June 2022