Microsoft courts UK banks for online love-in

Microsoft is to team up with a number of UK banks in an effort to create a unified online banking service. The service will be called the Finance Channel and will feature on the MSN site. Among the banks thought to be in negotiation with Microsoft are Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Co-operative Bank. The online banking sector is still in its infancy in the UK but interest in it is expected to take off over the course of the next two years. The Finance Channel will provide links to the individual banks’ sites. Microsoft will be using the service as a means of boosting its own site traffic. ®