Online banking trends grow

While it’s no secret more people are conducting business online, Fiserv — a global company that sells software and technology solutions to the financial sector — has issued a survey the provides some perspective on the growing number of people who use online banking and bill payment.

The survey, conducted by The Marketing Workshop and Harris Interactive, indicates that more than two million U.S. households adopted online banking and bill payment during the last year. According to Fiserv, 69.7 million households, representing four out of five households with Internet access, now use online banking services, primarily to access balance and account history and transfer money between accounts. Also, 64.4 million households pay at least one bill online, either at a bank Web site or directly at a company Web site.

Fiserv estimates in its Consumer Billing and Payment Trends survey that 88.2 million households in the United States have Internet access. The survey was first conducted in 2001.

“We believe that consumers will continue to conduct more and more of their financial activities online,” Geoff Knapp, vice president, Online Banking & Consumer Insights, Fiserv, said in the statement. “Online banking and bill payment is a free service, and a convenient and environmentally friendly way to bank. Consumers are actively becoming fans of the user-friendly, secure services financial institutions are implementing.”

KEY FINDINGS
• Of those surveyed, 41% of current online banking users indicated they planned to pay more bills online at their financial institution’s website in the coming months, while 35% of those who pay bills directly at company Web sites said they planned to pay more bills online at those sites.

• 79% of consumers said that they preferred to pay bills online because it was faster than other payment methods.

• 72% of consumers said paying online was easier than paying by check.

• 71% of consumers said they liked saving money on stamps.

• 71% of consumers said that paying bills online gave them more control over the timing of their payments.

• 24% of consumers who pay bills online also receive at least one bill online each month, up from 22% last year.

• 49% of consumers who use online bill pay said they are less likely to switch banks due to their experience, up from 43% last year.

• 67% of online bill pay users would recommend their bank to a friend or relative.

• Over a period of three months, 38% of online bill pay users recommended the service to others. Those recommending the service did so an average of two times.