Nua Internet Surveys: Online banking growing in Canada

Jan 23 2003: A new study from NFO CFgroup reveals that online banking is now more popular than telephone banking in Canada.

The research firm’s latest survey found that a greater percentage of Canadians are using on-line banking services rather than doing financial transactions via the phone.

In 2002, one-quarter of Canadian adults surveyed made an Internet banking transaction compared to 19 percent in 2001. Over the same period, phone-banking usage fell from 26 percent in 2001 to 22 percent last year.

Overall, 31 percent of Canadians were signed up for online banking in 2002, up from 24 percent in 2001 and 20 percent in 2000. Moreover, nearly half of Canadians with Internet access at home were signed up for online banking by the end of 2002, up from 40 percent in 2001.

However, while online banking is becoming increasingly popular, most Canadians still prefer to visit local branches to conduct financial transactions. Around 61 percent of Canadian adults reported visiting a branch to conduct a transaction with a teller in 2002, up from 58 percent in 2001.

NFO CFgroup s research indicates that 21 percent of Canadians paid a bill through an online banking service in 2002, up from 16 percent in 2001.

Around six percent of adults also took to using electronic bill presentment services, up two percent on the preceding year.

NB The report is a PDF document. You will need Adobe Acrobat to read it.