When it comes to online banking, Canada is one of the world’s most developed markets according to a new report from comScore.
Out of 37 global markets Canada was number one in adoption of online banking, with 67.1 percent of Canadian Internet users banking online in April 2008. Other English – speaking countries had much lower penetration, including the UK (49.5%), U.S. (44%), and Australia (41.7 %).
Canadians also led in online banking frequency, with an average of 8 usage days and 10.5 online banking visits per visitor in April. They spent an average of 46 minutes on banking sites viewing 121 pages per visitor.
Out of almost 24 million Canadian Internet users, 15.5 million visited a banking site. RBC Financial Group saw the most visits with 4.6 million, closely followed by TD Bank Financial Group with 4.5 million visitors. Among the banks in the top 10, Bank of Montreal sites saw the greatest increase in visits over the past year, growing 22 percent.
A demographic look at the visitors to the online banking category found the percent of people using online banking services is typically higher among younger age groups, the frequency of usage is slightly higher among older populations. About 74 percent of those between the ages of 25-44 use online banking services compared to 63 percent of those 55 and older.
“Canadians are typically very savvy Internet users, a fact that is underscored by their heavy usage of online banking,” said Brent Bernie, president of comScore Media Metrix, comScore Canada. “But because the Canadian online banking sector is so developed and competition already so fierce, banks need to closely examine how they are meeting the needs of their consumers online.”
