There are 67.3 million credit cards in the UK. According to Stephen Fry, space is only 62 miles away which means that those 67.3 million cards would reach there and back 11,718 times - assuming they're 8.5 cm each. This also means that if you're worried about your card handling capabilities you could quite easily build a ladder out of them and escape the planet. However, an infinitely safer and easier way is to face your finances and sign up for online banking.

Open 24 hours a day and with no queues, online banking has made managing your finances a doddle. You can simply login to your Visa credit card account and view any details you need to there on screen. Online you can view statements past and present so you can keep an eye on cash flow (on a daily basis if you want.) You can also print off these statements if you need to for any reason. Transactions taking place on your account often happen instantaneously these days, so if you make a purchase it comes off your balance straightaway. If you watch carefully enough you can even see these transactions taking place, so you never need to be caught out with insufficient funds ever again.

As well as being able to view transaction details and statements past and present, you will also be able to make payments onto your card, again in ?real-time?. These payments can be made form a bank account or another card, such as a debit card. This gives you a lot more control over your account than people had in the past. As you can keep track of your expenses easily you will be more aware of when you're approaching payment dates or credit limits. The facility often saves people from exceeding their limits or missing payment dates, and consequently being charged.

Another way that online Visa credit card banking can help you manage your money is the ability to apply for increases in your credit limit online. After you have requested the new amount there is often a period of time before the new credit limit is agreed or declined; online this can be instant. Once again, this can be invaluable if you find yourself needing some extra credit in times of emergency. Of course, whether you can increase your limit or not will depend upon how you have been using the card in the past and your income.

Another unique feature to Visa credit card online banking is that you can request a higher credit limit if you want to. Once again this is a lot easier than the alternatives of queuing in a branch or enduring endless hours on your phone with telephone banking. Of course your request will once again need to be approved by the lender, which is still going to take some time, but online banking does help speed up this process. This also means that you will not be caught out by going over your credit limit. If you see that you are going to go over you can do something about there and then. Whether your new limit is accepted or not will depend on your credit rating and how you have been using the card in the past.

There are many benefits of using online banking to monitor your credit card usage. Signing up is often a simple matter of going to your card provider's website and registering your details. Online banking facilities are usually simple to use. Another good thing about these services is that they usually free and do not require the purchase or downloading of any software onto your computer. With online banking services keeping track of your credit card use, and your daily expenses, is easier than ever before.