Finance online has become a fact of life. Carrying out a transaction over the web is fast; it avoids the hassles of queuing in a branch or being left dangling on the end of a phone line listening to Greensleeves or the Four Seasons; it puts the world at your fingertips.

And - despite all the adverse publicity - security is probably no worse than other methods of banking, just more newsworthy. Lloyds TSB's internet bank, Evolvebank, has delayed its launch date - it needs more extensive software testing. Halifax's Intelligent Finance's start was put on hold for months due to similar problems while Egg has also had high-profile difficulties.

But mistakes happen and will continue to occur just as they do with flesh and blood banks. My own bank used to send me regular details of a Scottish marchioness with a similar surname.

The opportunities on offer from online finance are enormous. But there is the real danger that users will embrace the medium while ignoring the message. It is all too easy to fall in love with online finance and throw caution to the wind. The fact that investors can buy and sell shares at the click of a mouse does not mean that they should.

Cheap - or during promotions, free - dealing can be very tempting. But even though the facilities exist in a variety unheard at the start of the year, the normal rules of risk and reward are not suspended.

If the French experience is anything to go by, we could soon see link-ups between Sainsbury and Tesco and online stockbrokers.

Selftrade, a Parisian operation now controlled by a German bank, has set up stalls in French supermarkets. In one, in a far from affluent Paris suburb, the selling area is next to the entrance and people are treated to a pitch which encourages online dealing. This features enthusiastic salespeople and past performance graphs with steeply upward lines.

Selftrade has a good product, a price substantially less than that charged in the UK, and French financial services regulations are different. But, although the thought attracts jibes of "elitist", it must be asked if it is sensible for people with not too many francs to rub together to go straight to individual shares without first building a diversified portfolio through the French equivalent of investment or unit trusts.

Here, financial advisers suggest only going into individual shares as a pure punt or when there is around £25,000 to £50,000 built up or available for equity purchases.

Equally, online mortgages and loans need to be seen in perspective. Brokers London & Country suggest there is little to be gained from applying for a home loan or remortgage via the internet because it does not speed up the operation. It is better to download forms and fill them in - people may take more care using pen and paper.

But London & Country - and those who think like them - are not luddites. They suggest the great role of the internet is to provide facts.

There is a massive volume of free or almost free information, even if one or two providers have pulled their own plugs; online finance users can access company information, press releases, material formerly restricted to professional advisers, charts, graphs and search through archive material.

There is education galore - multiple-choice test questions are marked in a nanosecond.

Money saving opportunities abound - fund supermarkets may not give individual advice but then neither do mailshot IFAs. The supermarket gives far wider choice than Isa recommendation leaflets.

And the whole universe of loans, mortgages and credit cards is spread out so individuals can find a best buy. By using online calculators, they can see just how big a loan they might get.

And online application helps in case of a refusal. Because it is anonymous, customers will not suffer the embarrassment of a face-to-face knockback.