Mortgage intermediaries could soon be offered the chance to link direct to the Woolwich via digital television.
From the summer, Woolwich’s Open Plan integrated personal banking service will be available through interactive digital TV.
A spokesperson for the bank said that a separate digital delivery channel for intermediaries could well be in place by the end of the year.
They said: “We are launching our digital banking service in the summer and it will offer the same facilities that are currently available over the internet, such as paying your mortgage and ordering foreign currency.
“There is an intermediary website already, so it is quite possible we will be able to deal with intermediaries digitally too.”
Customers with access to digital television will also be able to pay bills and transfer money.
John Stewart, Woolwich Group chief executive, added: “Giving customers access to their finances through television is an important building block in our strategy to provide a fully integrated personal banking service that is both easy for customers to use and cost-efficient.
“Soon customers will be able to manage not only their current account, but their savings, mortgage and even their unit trusts, using interactive television together with a variety of other channels, and be able to move seamlessly from one to another.”
But one stumbling block for Woolwich and other digital and online providers is the question mark hanging over the legality of digital signatures.
A spokesperson for the Department of Trade and Industry, said: “The e-commerce bill is currently before the house of Lords. We are expecting it to receive Royal Assent on 1 April.”
