A recent consumer survey conducted by Fiserv Inc., a provider of financial services technologies, notes that four out of five U.S. households with Internet access now use online banking services.
The survey found that more than 2 million U.S. households began using online banking and bill payment services during the past year, bringing the total to 69.7 million households with Internet access, or four out of five, use online banking services. The majority of these, or 64.4 million households, pay at least one bill online at a bank Web site or directly at a company site.
These online banking services-using households use these services mostly to access balance and account history, and to transfer money between accounts.
“Online banking and bill payment is a free service, and a convenient and environmentally friendly way to bank,” said Geoff Knapp, vice president of Online Banking & Consumer Insights at Fiserv. “Consumers are actively becoming fans of the user-friendly, secure services financial institutions are implementing.”
Knapp said that the company expects consumers to continue conducting an increasing number of their financial activities online.
Fiserv’s expectation is supported by figures, including the 41 percent of respondents currently using online banking services who said they plan to pay more bills online at their financial institution’s Web site in the coming months, along with 35 percent of respondents currently paying bills directly on company sites who said they plan on paying more bills at these sites.
The top reason why people opt to pay bills online is speed, with 79 percent of respondents saying so, followed by ease of use with 72 percent, cost savings with 71 percent and control with 71 percent.
Concerns about the environment also play a prominent role for many consumers, with 58 percent saying the environmental impact was important or very important in their decision to view and pay bills online. This reflects an increase from 51 percent last year.
Banks seem to benefit from increased loyalty because of their online offerings. Forty-nine percent of respondents who use online bill pay services said they are less likely to switch banks because of their experience there, up from 43 percent a year ago.
Sixty-seven percent of online bill pay users say they would recommend their bank to friends and relatives, and 38 percent of online bill pay users recommended the service to others during a period of three months. These users recommended these services an average of two times.
Source:
http://investors.fiserv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=396336
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