Online banking becomes key business for banks

Online banking is becoming a key platform for banks, not just a sideline, a 104 Survey (104市調中心) poll showed yesterday.

Almost 53 percent of 3,013 respondents said they banked online last year and 44 percent of them used the service more than once a week, the survey found.

Forty percent of those who said they had not yet tried Internet banking said they would give it a try it in the future.

Meanwhile, the percentage of people who traded stocks or purchased mutual funds over the Internet ballooned from 14 percent to 31 percent in just one year.

"The advance in technology is changing consumers' banking behavior," said Kristy Lin (林慧玲), senior vice president of HSBC's e-marketing department.

"Information enquiries for foreign exchange rates, fund values and interest rates now account for 70 percent of visits to our online banking [site], while transactions account for 30 percent. In a few years that ratio is likely to be reversed," she said.

HSBC saw a 30 percent increase in online service users, while the penetration rate surged over the past year. At present, 78 percent of the bank's premier service clients conduct transactions over the Internet.

The poll indicates that combining bank transfers, brokerage services and fund subscriptions on one platform would significantly increase the "stickiness" of customers to a bank's Web site, as the most popular banks for Internet users are those with multiple functions and a user-friendly interface.

At a recent bankers association luncheon, Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) vice president Bruce Yang (楊豊彥) told the Taipei Times that his bank's online accounts doubled in a single year following its merger with the Central Trust Bureau (中信局), thanks to the launch of an online gold-bullion trading service.

"As the majority of consumers now are part of the e-generation [those aged between 20-40], we are seeing more clients who favor Internet services over face-to-face service in branch offices," Yuanta Bank (元大銀行) vice president Huang Yung-chung (黃永昌) said.

However, many obstacles remain for banks venturing into online banking.

Security concerns remain the largest barrier for people who have yet to try online banking. Technical problems and lack of motivation because needs have been fulfilled by face-to-face services were also among the top reasons consumers have avoided online banking, HSBC said.