The Rise of Online Banking

With advances in technology, banking has never been easier. From being able to access your account information from the comfort of your own home to making payments on an app like mifinity, the internet has massively helped to make managing money simpler.

It comes as no surprise, then, that 4 in 5 of us wouldn’t choose a current account that didn’t have an online account management facility.

When asked which current account features people consider important, respondents from a thinkmoney survey placed online banking at the number one spot, with 80% suggesting they wouldn’t choose a current account without online access.

It’s good to see that online banking appears popular across all ages, and surprisingly, those aged 65 and over seem more likely to desire online account management than 18-24 year olds (79% compared with 76% respectively). This shows that people of all ages are seeing the benefits of online banking and utilising it effectively.

However, ‘older’ methods such as cheques seem to be regarded as less important, as just 19% of us would find access to a chequebook a desirable feature. This is reflected most significantly when it comes to age, as it seems the older you are, the more likely it is you’ll consider a chequebook important.

While just 3% of those aged 18-24 wouldn’t consider an account without a chequebook, a much larger 37% of people aged 65 and over see cheques as a key current account feature. From this, it appears as though the cheque is a dying breed and is considered an important feature by fewer and fewer people.

Conversely, younger age groups seem much more likely to consider mobile banking a key feature on a current account, as 27% of people aged 18-24 would see it as a vital feature, compared with a mere 3% of ages 65+. Also, it’s interesting to see that mobile banking is now considered just as important as telephone banking, as both were seen as a key feature by 14% of respondents.

It’s easy to understand why being able to manage your account online is so popular and sought-after, as making unnecessary trips to your local branch can be a big inconvenience and take up a lot of time.