Online banks compete intensely for new customers by offering some of the highest interest rates for savings accounts. They do this in part because some are Internet-only banks, without physical locations and thousands of employees to staff the branches of traditional brick–and-mortar banks. They pass these savings to their customers in the form of very competitive interest rates, and reduced loan rates, such as mortgages and home equity loans. Online banks can be completely paperless, sending you your monthly statements by e-mail.