The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that the recent on-line problems at Scotiabank highlight the harsh truth of electronic banking: It is never going to be 100 per cent reliable. The Globe's Rob Carrick writes that scheduled maintenance performed Nov. 8 to Nov. 12 resulted in some Scotiabank customers not being able to access their accounts, or see some of the accounts listed when they did log in. One reader reported seeing duplicate transactions in his account. On-line banking is supposed to be the 24-7 answer for busy people monitoring their accounts and making payments and transfers. When you cannot access your on-line accounts, it is like someone turned off the lights. Fear of service interruptions is one of the reasons why people stick to Big Six banks instead of trying challenger banks that operate strictly on-line, but outages are going to happen in on-line banking, regardless of who you deal with. That is why your banking backup plan should include a no-fee transactional account at an alternative bank that gives you a competitive rate on savings while allowing you to pay for purchases via debit, make e-transfers and pay bills. You only need a few hundred dollars in this account to pay bills.