An interesting alternative to the common Internetbanking via Web-Browser is HBCI (Home Banking Computer Interface).

Ooops! I just did a Google search to find a link with more information for you but unfortunately I discovered that up to now it seems to be rarely available outside of Germany. Nevertheless I'll talk about it because it might be an interesting information for you. Have a look here: http://www.hbci.de/siz_hbci.nsf/Page...h?OpenDocument

The fact that GnuCash already supports HBCI lets hope that it will be available in other countries in the near future too.

My experiences with online-banking began in 1995 with BTX (Sorry, but again a service which has been available in Germany only. Meanwhile it has been shut down.)

I have been using the common Internetbanking for several years and I never had any problems. Be cautious, watch your accounts regularly and follow the advices given in the other posts before. Especially delete the browser-cache on public computers. You soon won't miss online-banking any more.