The number of online banking customers grew to nearly 40 million during the fourth quarter of 2005, a 27-percent increase over the previous year, according to a study released yesterday by comScore Networks.
The study, “The 2006 State of Online Banking,” found that the usage of online bill payment services has grown 36 percent during the same period.
“Consumers continue to migrate to online banking, with the nation's largest banks attracting more than 8.5 million new online banking customers in 2005,” said Serge Matta, director of comScore Financial Services Solutions. “At the same time, it is clear that adoption rates are slowing. In Q4 2005, the total number of online banking customers grew by 3.1 percent over the previous quarter, representing the lowest sequential quarterly growth in three years.”
Ease of use and convenience were previously the major drivers, incentives and deflating security concerns are the primary motivations nudging customers to adopt online banking today, according to the study.
When asked about reasons for enrollment, 33 percent of new online banking consumers referenced the free banking products that were offered as an inducement, and 23 percent responded that they felt more secure about online banking than they did previously.
The report used Reston, VA-based comScore Networks' proprietary panel of more than two million online consumers. Additional information was gathered through a survey, conducted among 2,124 U.S. consumers to further understand their banking relationships, attitudes, and intentions.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
