The trend suggests a direct response to banks’ increasing service charges, which represent billions in annual revenues for the two largest commercial banks in that country – Scotiabank and National Commercial Bank (NCB).

Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica (BNS), which upgraded its internet banking service in the first quarter of this year, has is already reporting a 25% jump in the use of internet banking – only halfway through year. Some 37,000, or 10%, of its active customers use ScotiaBank’s internet banking service. BNS is Jamaica’s largest bank in terms of deposits.

NCB, the largest bank in terms of assets, is reporting that internet banking represented 46% of all transactions in May of this year, up from 42% in January.

Together, BNS and NCB control 70% of Jamaica’s commercial banking market.

Logically, as more people in Jamaica get access to Internet, more are using it as their primary way of banking. It is the easiest of all banking channels, even easier than telephone banking.

There are also savings to be realized by those who bank online in Jamaica. Those who utilize internet banking save on fees that they would normally pay for transactions within a branch, bill-payment charges and most importantly, they save on time. They also have the added convenience of being able to do their banking anywhere, any time.