I have got internet access with Sol Bank but have not had the need for it up til now. Utilities are sorted through direct debit but it is taxes and community fees that I need to be able to sort out remotely. Certainly online banking would make life a lot easier.

You might have a problem paying your taxes and community charge via the internet it will depend a lot on what information is on the bill when you get it.

It is taking a long time to get this type of banking process into every day use over here for the normal private user. They look at it as to complicated and still like HARD CASH in the hand or DD for bill payments. The only problem with DD bill payments is that if it is wrong and the money has already been taken out it takes a very long time to get it refunded.

As a quick example of the way of thinking over here when I first moved here I went to my own bank to pay my electricity bill and was told I could not pay it there but had to go to any bank that was listed on the bottom of the bill.

Of I trot to one of these banks only to be told that I can only pay my bill between 8 an 10 30 am Monday to Friday when I asked why as it is all done electronicaly they said thats the way we do it here.

The reasone that it is only done that way I have since found out is because nobody has bothers either to complain about the system or programed the system for it to be done at any time during normal banking times, you also get conflicting information from 2 different people from the same company for the same question asked, ie when I asked if I could pay my electricity bill via internet banking one person said NO then another said YES but I only got that be keeping on pressing the point.

Sorry if I have rambled on a bit but wanted to give alittle insight into the some times strange and funny way of life here, but you would not get me back to the UK for anything I know where my bread is buttered as they say.