If you're uncomfortable releasing your credit card details over the internet, or just want the ability to make payments from a current account, a growing number of websites are offering direct bank payments.

At Deal A Day, Air New Zealand, JetStar and the Land Transport Authority, you can now pay for goods or services by directly accessing a bank account online.

The sites are able to offer an alternative to online credit card transactions by dint of the POLi online payment service created by Melbourne company Centricom.

Deal A Day’s Dinesh Kaku said that the new POLi system allows any ANZ, BNZ, ASB, TSB, Kiwi Bank or Westpac customer to pay online quickly and securely through their own bank’s online platform, making a direct payment from their cheque or savings account.

Air New Zealand added POLi support in May. JetStar followed in June.

“There is no need to enter credit card information, or worry about the security of the payment platform they're using,” said Mr Kaku.

To pay with POLi, customer selects ‘Internet Banking' as their payment option and nominates a bank. Onscreen prompts assist the customer install the POLi browser (a one-time requirement), through which the transaction is completed. Payment is then debited immediately from the customer’s account, the order confirmed, and the customer returned to the e-tailer's website. (See a video demo on Centricom's website here.)

POLi supports Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox for Windows, but not yet the Mac version of either browser. Mr Kaku said he's not sure when Mac support will arrive.

Through POLi, you complete a transaction with an e-commerce website by logging on to your bank, then selecting an account for payment. You're then returned to the e-tailer's website.