Since the early days of online banking, the argument of whether consumers can actually trust their finances to virtual companies has been raging. Security is the main issue of concern and banks have done their utmost to alleviate these fears.

The money being in a virtual form is the one of the fact that those willing to trust the internet for their banking will frequently argue, there are no high street banks that actually store individual clients money in a box in their safe any more.

Considering this, usability is one of the main quantifiable differences between banks residing purely in a virtual world and those with a bricks and mortar presence in the real world.

Good usability reflects well for the site and gives users a feeling of reliability and security.

Level of service they receive is what the customers are now more concerned from their online bank, and if the bank can't get it's internet presence right, it appears that any level of faith assumed by having a real world presence will count for very little to the user.

While staying at your home you can do all your transactions and bill payment in your free time; but the persons that doesn't have an online banking account will have to make a trip to the local bank and sort everything there.

Making frequent trips to the bank is also reduced by using the online banking: since when a bill has to be paid, it has to be done on time, unless you want to pay additional fees and risk losing status with your creditor.

However, when comparing with an online banking account, there are certain advantages to using an offline banking account.

One advantage is you can talk to someone in person if you have any difficulty with your account. You can get the solution for that problem by talking to someone that guide you and will help you in any way possible; and can even tell you what went wrong.

But, in case when you are online, it is only possible for you to send an email and it more often than not takes time for the bank to reply. If it is a severe problem, it will take some time for you getting a reply from your customer service center and you have to wait sometime for that.

Exercising is the one benefit you will get from the offline banking account. This may sound like a lame advantage, but with the threat of fatness hanging over our heads, we need to keep taking frequent exercise.

When making the decision these are just a few advantages and disadvantages that you can factor, but ultimately, it will be up to you to decide the choice.