It can be difficult to get to the bank before it closes during the week. If you are anything like me, up and out by 8am and not back until gone 6pm, then you will find that your working hours mean that you are never free when the bank is open (typically 9am until 5pm weekdays but do check with your local branch). So, what do you do if you need to check your latest statement, transfer money between accounts or need to deposit some money into someone else’s account? This article addresses precisely that question.

It has been possible to do your banking over the phone for a fairly long time. However, it only ever managed to gain limited popularity, as it is of only very limited use. Account holders cannot see their latest statement right in front of them, they cannot see the standing balance of each one of their accounts and in order to do anything with their money they have to go through a telephone operator, who expects the account holder to give out all of their personal details without a moment’s hesitation. This is quite unacceptable for a lot of people, and understandably so.

There is now an alternative. It has probably been around for a little longer than you would imagine but the time since its launch has given banks the opportunity to iron out any creases. Online banking is now secure, fast, efficient, easy to use and environmentally friendly. You simply log on (which in the case of HSBC requires an IB number, your date of birth and 4 randomly selected digits from your 6 digit personal number - helping to protect against phishing) and away you go. You can view statements, transfer money between accounts send money to others and even set up entirely new bank accounts, including high interest online savers.

There are still some security concerns that you should be aware of. Look out for the padlock in the status bar of your screen to show that you are on a secure ite and always go to your bank’s site directly through your browser, never click on links in emails.