Internet banking on the rise.

• Author: GOULIQUER, DIANNE
• Position: Banking Services Delivery Study - Brief Article

According to the findings of a recent marketing research report, 20 per cent of Canadians are signed up for Internet banking, double the number of a year ago. And those who are registered for the service use it frequently.

Conducted by Canadian Facts, one of Canada's oldest marketing and social research firms, the Banking Services Delivery Study shows six out of 10 people who use Internet banking services click on their accounts at least once a week. Three-quarters of the survey's respondents said they usually bank online at least once a month.

Canadian Facts senior research director Rhonda Grunier says Internet banking has experienced its biggest jump in usage over the past year; and she says the numbers will continue to increase.

"Sixteen per cent of Canadians who are not signed up for Internet banking say they are very or fairly likely to register for this service within the next six months," she says. "Mostly it's the convenience factor: people can access their accounts whenever they want at anytime of the day or night, and they don't have to leave the comfort of their own homes.

"I think there are a couple of reasons why we've seen such big growth over the past year. Number one, just as more people get access to the Internet, it becomes an option for more people. And I think there are people that just learn more and do more with the Internet and start using it more and get more comfortable with it, and it's not so hard for them to take that leap to start doing their banking online. There's also been a lot of promotion of the service over the past year from the major banks."

Among Canadians not planning to sign up with their financial institution for online banking, 32 per cent cited a lack of a computer and/or an Internet connection as the main reason; 20 per cent of all non-registrants and 33 per cent of those with Internet access at home said security concerns were preventing them from doing their banking online.

"Security is still an issue," Grunier says. "When we ask people who haven't signed up to tell us why they haven't, that still comes up as the key reason, so that's still a barrier for some people."

The study's findings also show 64 per cent of Canadians now have an Internet connection at home or at work, up from 54 per cent in 1999.

In addition to the Internet, the study also looked at how Canadians are making use of other options to conduct their banking. Automated Banking Machine (ABM) usage, for example, is very...