Consumers Want Person-to-Person Payments Services From Banks

“This year’s survey demonstrates that not only has online banking clearly become a mainstream application for consumers, but consumers are now demanding more money movement services from their financial institutions, like person-to-person payments,” said Sanjeev Dheer, CEO, CashEdge. “Additionally, we found that consumers would prefer to use their financial institution over an independent network to deliver these services – citing trust in their bank and convenience as key factors in this decision. This represents a tremendous opportunity for banks to compete in the lucrative P2P payments space.”

The results further revealed an increasing use of online money movement services and a growing interest in mobile banking capabilities. Key findings include:

Online Banking Usage Remains Strong

According to the survey, online banking has become a mainstream application for consumers:

• 81 percent of respondents currently access their financial institution online at least four times per month
• 89 percent expressed a desire to ultimately move all banking and financial transactions online

Consumer Interest in P2P Payment Services from Banks is Growing

Consumers are seeking additional online money movement services, including the ability to transfer funds to their friends and family in a simple, secure and convenient way. According to the 2009 survey:

• 81 percent of respondents would use a P2P service if offered by their financial institution
• 77 percent of respondents would prefer to use a P2P service offered by their own financial institution over an independent online P2P service (such as PayPal or a similar service)
• 73 percent of respondents felt that a P2P service offered through their bank would be more secure than an independent P2P service
• 69 percent of respondents felt that a P2P service offered through their bank would be more convenient than an independent P2P service

Consumers Desire Mobility

This year’s survey highlights that consumers are interested in mobile banking and would use it to conduct a variety of banking functions. According to the survey, 32 percent of respondents would use mobile banking technology if offered by their bank.

About CashEdge’s Fourth Annual Consumer Online Banking Survey

Commissioned by CashEdge in June 2009, the survey polled more than 850 consumers nationwide aged 18 years and older who use online banking capabilities. These respondents described themselves as bank customers (76 percent), credit union members (22 percent) and customers of “direct/virtual banks” (2 percent). The margin of error for the survey is three percent. The survey was conducted by the independent research firm Zoomerang.