This report from Bank Systems has some good data on account opening costs. 

We’re now reaching the point where [online account-opening] solutions are no longer simply nice to have,” according to Aite analyst Eva Weber, author of the report. “They are part of what customers expect from their providers.” Weber notes that online account opening is compatible with both customer needs and institutional strategies, such as increasing automation to improve speed of service and reduce costs.

Source: Bank Systems & Technology : Opening Up: Banks Expand Customer Reach With Online Account Opening

I am always suspicious of channel costs after the 1c per transaction quote that came out in the 90’s.  It all depends on which costs are allocated in the quote, and often the costs associated with building the capabilities are ignored. 

But the one element I am not suspicious of is elimination of personnel costs associated with an activity, and with that in mind I would accept there is at least 45 minutes of time saved for account opening provided its fully automated. Based on a $35K salary, and 1,250 useful hours annually per employee gives us a saving of $28 per hour or $21 per account.   

The potential savings for financial institutions from online account opening is compelling, according to a new report from Boston-based Aite Group. The study found that online account openings cost banks $15 each, compared to $65 for a traditional account opening. Even if just 5 percent of an institution’s new accounts were opened online, the $50 cost improvement per client could generate between $84,000 and $281,000, Aite reports. As a result of the savings and consumer demand, “Online account-opening functionality is quickly becoming a competitive must-have,” the report asserts.

So in the final analysis between my estimate and Bank Systems, we have a range of $21 – $50 savings per account.  Either way its highly significant, and worth the effort from a pure cost play.  The larger point is the immediacy of the activity for the customer, and the alignment with the customers expectations to get things done online, and now!

Having aid all that, its not inconsequential to build online account opening for many Banks, so it takes creativity and thought relative to each Banks technology constraints.

Finally the piece notes the key vendors, and I suspect this is the key to cost effective implementation, using a plug in system.

As a result, spending on online account-opening technology will reach $101 million during 2007 through 2009, up from $78.2 million during 2004 through 2006, according to a related report from Aite. While Wachovia relies on CashEdge (New York) as its technology provider, other vendors in the space include Automated Financial Systems (Exton, Pa.), Scivantage (Jersey City, N.J.), eFunds (Scottsdale, Ariz.), S1 (Atlanta), uMonitor (Memphis), Accenture (New York), IBM (Armonk, N.Y.), Andera (Providence, R.I.) and Infosys (Bangalore).