You Can Bank On It

American Demographics, Nov 1, 2002 by John Fetto

Byline: JOHN FETTO

Nobody likes waiting in long lines at the bank. Yet despite the efforts of financial institutions to get consumers to take advantage of Internet banking, only 23 percent of American adults say they sometimes or frequently bank online, according to a recent Web survey of 1,000 adults, conducted in late June by New York City-based market research firm Ipsos-Reid. Just what's making everyone steer clear of the Web when it comes to banking? Interestingly, it isn't privacy or security concerns, but tradition. Almost one-fourth (22 percent) of those who never or rarely bank online give the simple reason that they are happy with the way they've always banked. Only 17 percent say online banking is not secure enough for them, and 11 percent say they are concerned about protecting their privacy. Still, banks should make efforts to ease any consumer fears. More than half of all adults (58 percent) say they would feel better about Internet banking if institutions assured them that no personal information would be sold to other companies, and 56 percent say they'd be happier if banks would assure them that hackers would not steal their info.

CLICK OR LICK?

Women who use Internet banking services are more likely than men to go online to pay their bills each month (53 percent versus 42 percent). Men, on the other hand, are more inclined to use an automatic pay feature (54 percent versus 49 percent of women).

OF ADULTS WHO USE INTERNET BANKING, THE PERCENT WHO DO THE FOLLOWING ONCE A MONTH OR MORE, BY GENDER: