Clicking with online banking?

After a relatively slow start, South Africans have flocked to Internet and cellphone banking.

Absa, one of the country's big four financial institutions, announced this week that it had reached 1 million customers transacting online. First National Bank - which sends notification of transactions to 5 million clients by cellphone - unveiled plans on Wednesday to sell Mango airline tickets through cellphone banking. Standard Bank and Nedbank's Internet and cellphone banking services also have seen rising demand.

"Using the Internet has got to be the cheapest way of banking, given the cost of cheques and withdrawing cash," said Christo Vrey, the managing executive for Absa digital channels.