In researching this issue, we spoke with Dan Schley, co-founder of Home Financial Network, which is in the process of launching a business version of its HomeATM product. Schley, a home banking pioneer who ran MECA Software, told us about a focus group he recently observed. Here was a room full of small business owners; each used the Internet, yet not one was willing to use Internet banking. Why? Security and privacy concerns.

Maybe you’ve heard the same thing from your business clients. Don’t let it slow your development. These hesitations will quickly pass just as consumer reluctance to use credit cards online has mostly faded. The Internet will become the platform for all types of business activities, from shipping to order entry to accounting (OBR 9/98). The economic advantages will be dramatic, especially for smaller businesses that can’t justify in-house specialists for ancillary activities. During the next decade, we’d guess 80-90% of the businesses in Schley’s focus group will become avid users of ecommerce, including Net banking. (Recommended reading: Web Services Briefing, Red Herring, Nov. 1998 www.redherring.com/mag/issue60/toc.html

Be glad your business clients are hesitant, paranoid, and seemingly resistant to Net banking. It means they need someone they trust to hold their hand as they move essential business functions online. And who better to do that than their bank? But don’t wait. As we pointed out last month (OBR 9/98), Intuit is already serving many of your clients’ accounting needs. As the software company gains trust, either through more partnerships, or a merger with a financial institution, they’ll begin cherry-picking the financial services as well.