A colleague asked me about online only Banks, and I thought I would stick my response here, and seek any updates from readers.
There are very few online only banks, and online only is often a misnomer, because they have call centres. Here are the ones I am aware of to date.
this list is being updated as I receive information about worldwide online banks – again the definition being Branchless – meaning no reliance on branches.
Global
ING Direct – global site
US
iGoBanking
ETrade Bank
www.netbank.com
www.mybankingdirect.com
hsbcdirect
UK
Egg
First Direct
RaboDirect (Ireland and Belgium)
Poland
www.mbank.com.pl
http://www.mbank.com.pl/eng/
www.inteligo.pl
www.vwbankdirect.pl
Canada
PC Financial
Citizens Bank
Also a classic piece on the demise of Wingspan in the US back in 2000. That was the BancOne foray.
UPDATE:
I have added a few more based on responses, and updated CompuBank to Netbank.
I used the definition that internet only means no reliance on branches. For example this from the HSBC Direct site:
Can I withdraw money or make a deposit to my HSBC Direct Online Savings Account in a branch?
No. You won’t be able to make deposits or withdrawals at a branch because HSBC Direct Online Savings is an online-only account.
Technorati tags: branchless+banks, online+banks
Bankwatch 
How about http://www.mybankingdirect.com? It’s a web only operation under the New York Community Bancorp…similar to iGoBanking from Flushing.
Thanks … its in that fuzzy group like iGoBanking that are branded divisions within a regular Bank. Its hard to know where to draw the line. HSBC Direct is in that category too.
MyBankingDirect.com
is a service of New York Community Bank – member FDIC. New York Community Bank has been meeting the financial needs of our neighbors since 1859.Operating through seven community banking divisions, we serve our customers through a network of over 137 full service branches throughout the New York Metro area including the 5 boroughs of New York City,
Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, Westchester County and Northern New Jersey. We’re also the region’s largest
supermarket banking franchise, with 47 of our branches conveniently located in-store.
Rabo Direct is also present in Belgium with an on line only bank.
http://www.rabobank.be/
FYI, pcfinacial.ca is a division of CIBC.
I am shocked at the number of online only banks in poland, does any one know, why this is? That is a large number compared to the rest of European countries
Don’t forget about Virtual Bank:
Virtual Bank
Citizensbank of Canada is also a virtual bank http://www.citizensbank.ca
First Internet Bank of Indiana
https://www.firstib.com/
Nationwide Bank is now a direct bank
http://www.nationwidebank.com/
https://www.fnbodirect.com – is another
You have mentioned hsbcdirect.com under your US listing. http://www.hsbcdirect.ca offers the same great rates and online facility for Canadian online savings accounts – definitely worth checking out.
Carolyn … thanks for stopping by …. its a good sign that you found this discussion 🙂
Recent research by CapGemini in the Netherlands outlines that 54 % of the customers do not visit their bank branch any more and exclusevly use internet and telephone to stay in touch and execute transations.
See: http://www.nl.capgemini.com/m/nl/n/pdf_Onderscheidend_vermogen_voor_banken_noodzakelijk_voor_binden_van_klanten.pdf
What about Rabobank who has on line banks in five countries:
http://www.rabodirect.ie
http://www.raboplus.co.nz
http://www.bizner.nl
http://www.rabobank.be
http://www.raboplus.com.au
Which ones offer deposit my internet? (USAA for the military does-they just scan it using your scanner) Any others?
I am researching the topic of retail bank profitability for a conference I am developing and came across this discussion.
As a Brit living in Holland I had to laugh at the CapGemini study that 54% Dutch customers do not visit their bank branch. The reality is that they have all closed down and it is impossible to find a human being behind a desk in holland – Thats why!
@Rhiannon … just curious – what is the nature of the conference?
Hi Colin,
I work for a company that organises business conferences . I only started researching this particular topic this weekend…it will be a retail banking summit on optimising product profitability and customer revenue… It will focus on business strategies used to optimise customer ROI rather than specific examples of products that have been developed. Like I say I am in the initial phase of reading about the topic which is why I was happy to have stumbled across this website.
Cheers, Rhiannon
a new branchless bank in australia
http://www.ubank.com.au
UK internet only banks I can think of given your current examples…
First Direct (part of HSBC)
Egg (part of Citi)
http://www.smile.co.uk/ (part of Co-op)
http://www.if.com/ (part of HBOS)
http://www.mint.co.uk/ (part of RBS)
Zopa – p2p lending only
When you think about so many of the banks mentioned in this article, and how they are closely associated with brick-and-mortar institutions, you get the sense that “internet bank” is a tough moniker to live up to. The fact is that there are no more than an extremely few “internet banks” — banks ONLY online — to me indicates that a pure, monoline financial services business, focused on whichever product, just doesn’t have much of a shot at success. Hear that MBNA?
Etrade is trustworthy.