Once a niche market, internet banking has grown into a widely-used tool for the average consumer.
Among 3,988 adults surveyed in the U.S. by Gartner Group, 47% said they now use Internet banking. In the U.K, 30% said the same.
Results tended to vary according to income. Gartner found that over half of all consumers earning more than $30,000 in the U.S. and ?15,000 in the U.K., use Internet banking. Among lower-income households, 25% in America and 17% in the U.K. use internet banking.
“Over the past several years, online banking has been seen as a way of appealing to more affluent and younger clients,” said David Schehr, Gartner research director. “However, what is becoming clear is that the overall level of consumer Internet use and the increasingly narrow segment of nonusers–particularly in the U.S.–are shifting the dynamics of who is using online banking and what they seek from it.”
Among people who don’t utilize Internet banking, no one single reason was cited above all others, noted Gartner. Around 61% of U.S. households and 58% of those in the U.K. said they simply prefer to use other methods. However, 41% of U.S. consumers and 38% in the U.K. blamed security as the most important reason for not banking over the Internet.
Gartner conducted its survey in December 2008 and January 2009 and questioned people 18 years and older.
According to another report from research firm Forrester, the effect of bill consolidation sites, such as Yodlee and Corillian, was noted. With these sites, consumers can manage and pay all their bills directly online and independent of banks. according to Forrester, such sites are starting to woo more people from the banks’ own bill payment sites, and will own a greater share of the market by 2012. Thus, banks will need to do a better job spreading the word about their own online services.
“eBusiness executives at banks need to work to establish earlier and stronger bill payment relationships with young affluents and other young adults,” said Forrester senior analyst Edward Kountz. “To strengthen their position and better support these customers, banks need to add more payment options, deploy online and mobile alerts with greater visibility, and continue to hammer home the message that online bill payment is free.“
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