Nearly 1,600 financial institutions and Websites like Yahoo!, MSN and AOL now offer some version of e-banking. So is it time to make the switch from traditional banking?

Pros: Online banking can help you avoid late payments, especially if you travel a lot. It's also good if you don't reconcile your checkbook often. E-banks post transactions daily, so your records are constantly up to date. This makes it easier to spot errors earlier, instead of having to wait for your monthly statement to arrive in the mail.

Cons: If you write fewer than 10 checks a month, e-banking may not pay. Fees run from about $2.95 a month for 10 transactions to $12.95 a month for 30, plus 45 cents for each additional transaction. And although online banking can eventually save you hours every month, going through all your bills and keying in account numbers and addresses is initially time-consuming.