Hundreds of people stand outside a bank in a post-apocalyptic city that looks like a remnant of the Batman movie set. Spiders crawl on the hands of the tellers. Maniacal security guards laugh at the interminable queue of customers waiting to conduct their transactions.

Suddenly, the scene merges into a quaint home surrounded by blue skies. A person presses a few keys on their computer, and as if by magic, they send bill payments from the comfort of their study.

If you've watched TV anytime in the last few weeks, you couldn't have missed this strange new commercial from home-computer manufacturer Packard Bell. But while the ad portrays home banking in a light of fantasy, it's becoming a reality for a growing number of consumers.

Of course, home banking doesn't let you cash a paycheck, or withdraw funds; even Apple hasn't yet created a PC with a cash dispenser built into the chassis! But when it comes to checking balances and paying bills, you have access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Home banking makes it quicker, faster, and ultimately cheaper to pay bills and manage your money. Forget writing checks each month; just send payments to your creditors via your computer.

If you have an account with a major bank, you probably have access to home banking. BayBank, now BankBoston, has inundated clients with information about its HomeLink system. The service and software are free, but there is a nominal monthly charge for electronic bill payment.

HomeLink allows you to use a modem to connect to BankBoston's encrypted dial-up system. (You can't access HomeLink over the Internet, yet.) Enter your PIN code, and you're ready to go.

Checking your account balance is as easy as a keystroke. You can also check recent bank activity, sorted in dozens of ways. But the selling point of home banking, as the Packard Bell commercials enthuse, is bill payment.

The first time you pay a bill with HomeLink, you tell the system the company you're sending a payment to, their mailing address, and pertinent information like your account number. From then on, whenever you want to send a payment to that creditor, you select them from a menu and tell HomeLink how much you want to send. Forget looking for stamps; the bank transfers the funds electronically or mails a check themselves.

HomeLink's interface is primitive, harkening back to old MS-DOS terminal programs. Menus are accessed by the keypad on your computer, with little mouse support and no graphics. But BankBoston promises a new, graphically-oriented version later this year. And you can even transfer data between the popular Quicken package and your account.

HomeLink and other packages like it are great if you have a local account and just want to access it electronically. If you're really interested in Internet banking, however, you can now transact all your banking without ever seeing a banker or even a bank branch.

Security First National Bank (www.snfb.com) is an FDIC-insured bank that offers services strictly over the Internet; there is no local branch to visit. To deposit funds, you use ATMs or direct deposit; all bill payments are done over the Web with a secure browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer.

SNFB is living proof of the money banks can save by turning to the Internet; after making an $100 minimum initial deposit, there are no monthly fees, no monthly balance, unlimited free checking and 20 free electronic bill payments per month. If you don't mind banking a little differently than usual, you can get a free account and access it from anywhere you can open a Web session.

With all the options out there for banking, it's hard to go wrong. If you feel comfortable with technology, you'll love throwing out your checkbook and paying bills electronically. And if you don't, well, you may not have much choice in a few years.

Kevin S. Davis is the coordinator of HASCS' Advanced Support Team and an independent computer consultant. You can reach him via e-mail at ksdavis@fas.harvard.edu.