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The evolution of e-commerce has slowly built consumer demand in Maine and New Hampshire for online banking services, a point-and-click market hungry for an easier way to transact financial business.

Online banking is holding steady nationwide, though its growth over the past decade is staggering, according to research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. An estimated 63 million Americans bank online, or about 43 percent of Internet users. The estimate has climbed from 10 million in 1998 to 16 million in 2000 to 53 million people in 2005.

Those who are not banking online are surfing the Net to get financial information, including shopping around for rates and trying to learn more about various financial products, Pew reports. The experts suggest this is only the tip of the iceberg, that the millions of Americans have yet to accept online banking because of a nagging "trust gap." The growth of holiday shopping online boosts e-commerce across the board, but consumer acceptance is tempered by occasional reports of identity theft, acknowledged Doug Coombs, marketing director at Ocean National Bank, a Portsmouth-based institution with 36 locations across Maine and New Hampshire. But he notes online banking programs have built-in protections and 24/7 security.

Computer servers are monitored around the clock and programs are equipped with the latest encryption software, which is designed to scramble data to protect sensitive information. Demographics indicate consumers younger than 39 are most likely to conduct their banking online, but Coombs reports a growing older audience.

"It's one more way we're making banking convenient for our business customers," Coombs said.

Online banking is becoming the ultimate value-added service, one that will only be more valuable as banks compete for customers. Customers can monitor balances, transfer funds, make bill payments, make out loan applications, shop for the best interest or mortgage rates. It's part of the paperless office trend.

Coombs said Ocean National, for example, can give businesses a CD-ROM of their financial statements. In 2007, the bank will perform more "remote capture," where a scanning machine is used to process checks into respective accounts.

Joseph B. Reilly, president and chief executive officer of Centrix Bank, said consumers can expect an expansion of online services as banks compete for customers.

"There's a rush to technology," he said.

But while the banking industry continues to find new ways to compete, and new services to offer, Reilly said customer service remains a priority. Relationships with customers are built on trust as well as quality of service, he notes.

Larger banks have more means to expand and promote online banking services, but the offerings are now pretty widespread.

Mascoma Savings Bank informs its business customers that it now has "remote capture," which allows them to make deposits electronically from the convenience of one's desk. As Mascoma puts it, the service "results in less work, increased accuracy, reduced processing costs and increased profit for your business." The bank's Internet banking services allows consumers to view account balances and activity, view and print account history, and place stop payments -- among other actions.

Piscataqua Savings Bank, established 1877, has its e-bank component front-and-center on its Web site. TD Banknorth has online services tailored to personal, small business, corporate and institutional banking. Citizens Bank offers an online banking demo, and, as several institutions do, it markets the use of Quicken and Microsoft Money account software programs.

The bottomline: check your bank or banks, as they are bound to have online services your business could use with ease.

Laconia Savings Bank, with 17 locations in New Hampshire, places great emphasis on online security. For personal banking, the bank has a log-in mechanism to verify a customer's identification in two ways. Its business online banking involves a security token which generates a time-sensitive security code that constantly changes, according to its Web page. Laconia Savings Bank has an online education center to help users come to know the services as they have known the more traditional teller connections.

Some of the online services are based on technology banks have used for years, if not decades. Wire transfers date back to the early and mid-20th century, and consumers have long accepted and embraced direct deposit, said Gerald H. Little, president of the New Hampshire Bankers Association. He said the greater availability of high-speed Internet connections will certainly grow online banking.

"I wouldn't say it's ubiquitous, but it's getting close," he said.