The Internet's popularity has risen greatly in the last few years and it's popularity
             has forced most industries to go online. The Internet's millions of users have attracted
             commercal banks. People are increasingly using the Internet for financial services in
             addtion to using the Internet for research, education,
             The last few years have seen an explosive proliferation of the Internet, with millions of users
             around the world logging on for a growing number of purposes. People shop, research, take
             classes and file their taxes on the 'net, and, increasingly, are using online banking services to
             manage their personal finances. Personal computers, telephonic banking and increasingly
             sophisticated automated teller machines are becoming commonplace as consumers abandon
             daily or weekly trips to their local bank branches in favor of more convenient electronic financial
             service. Although consumers appreciate the speed and convenience of electronic banking, there
             is growing concern over the security of Internet transmissions. H.R. 2937, for example, provides
             for the recognition of digital authentication in place of signatures, a move that has supporters
             praising the technological savvy of the banking industry, but leaves some critics deeply concerned
             at the possibility of misuse by criminal hackers.
             While ATMs are a more "secure" form of electronic banking, consumers are paying in other ways.
             Fifty-four percent of the nation's banks add surcharges for the convenience of using the ATMs of
             their competitor's banks, and many independent ATMs operated by non-depository institutions are
             charging fees as well. Critics, led by Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, D-N.Y., are calling for a ban of these
             surcharges, saying that banks are profiting by "gouging" customers with outrageous fees. Others
             argue, however, that banks make little or no profit off the surcharges, and that independent ATM
             ...