but I might use it to read an attachment. I'm constantly getting attachments in emails: if I'm only on my mobile, and the attachment is a PDF, I can read it in Acrobat. If it's a Word or Powerpoint, I have to switch the laptop on (if I have it with me). Actually, I could imaging proofing a.doc and making minor changes while travelling on one of the newer phones (like N97) that has a slide out keyboard and a decent size screen - as long as all the menus hide when not needed.
As others have said, it is common throughout Europe.
In Jan2008, The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) went live, meaning all participating players (all major banks) use the same clearing process, whether for Credits(manual payments) or Direct Debits.
The aim is to have all institutions migrated by 2010.
Some more info at http://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/content.cfm?page=sepa_vision and http://www.sepa.eu/