Online Bankers Not Deterred

The rise of the 'phishing' scam notwithstanding, three in ten British adults (30%) are 'more confident' about the security of online banking now than they were three years ago, according to TNS. This rises to 41% among people aged 16-24 years old.

Almost half of respondents (47%) were aware of recent high profile internet banking security scams and loopholes discovered in financial providers' web sites. However, whether because banks have done enough to reassure them or because people simply don't think it'll happen to them, more than one in five (22%) are either 'likely to start using' or 'plan to increase their use of' online banking in the future. A further 11% 'use Internet banking services and have no plans to change their usage', while just 4% planned to decrease. Nevertheless there are still many who have 'no plans to use' Internet banking (24%) or say they are 'very unlikely to consider using it' in the future (26%).

According to Rosemary Bayman, Managing Consultant at TNS Financial & Professional Services, the convenience of Internet banking has enabled it to make inroads in the past few years due to the spread of Internet access and the increasingly 'time-poor' society we live in. 'However, Internet banking is not the right solution for everyone: banks must continue to offer their customers choice in how they manage their finances'.

Bayman says that in the light of recent scams and scares, banks have reacted quickly to redouble security and reassure customers. 'The good news is that in the initial aftermath following the security scandals there has been a lesser impact on customers' use of online banking - and also on their attitudes to security - than some industry observers may have envisaged'. The impact of recent talk about making customers more responsible for losses - if they have not behaved sensibly in safeguarding their account details - has yet to be seen.

TNS interviewed around 1,000 British adults between 12 and 14 November using its Phonebus service. The group's web site is at www.tns-global.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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