Online Banking Explodes in the Last Decade
July 12, 2010
The number of households that use online banking grew sixfold in the last 10 years, with 80% of US households with Internet access now banking online, according to a recent survey by Fiserv, Inc., a global financial services technology provider.
Online bill payment, meanwhile, also grew, now accounting for 45% of all payments, up from just 12% a decade ago. Corresponding to that growth, the use of paper checks declined precipitously, to 26% of payments this year, down from 61% in 2000.
Ten years ago, the typical online bill payer was a tech-savvy, young man.
"Now it's moms and seniors and people at all income levels," Fiserv vice president Geoff Knapp said in a media statement. "Online bill payment has become mainstream, and there's still room to grow."
Checking Account Bank Rates Tied to Paperless Services
Interest and rewards for checking accounts are typically tied to the use of paperless services, such as online statements and automatic bill pay. Banks will continue to encourage online banking to reduce paper costs and delivery expenses.
What's next? Fiserv expects mobile banking and person-to-person payments to grow quickly. In just two years, the number of customers who used their cell phones to conduct personal banking business increased to 30% in 2010, from 23% in 2008.
Banks, meanwhile, will enrich their online and mobile banking offerings. First Internet Bank, among others, recently announced text message banking, which lets customers get savings and checking account balances and transaction histories by text. Internet banks have been making a name for themselves in the last several years by offering highly competitive checking, savings, and money market rates.
