In a report titled “Online Banking 2006: Surfing to the Bank,” the Pew Research Center declared that the number of Internet users who bank online is on the rise. Unfortunately, their most recent in-house data appears to be from December of 2005.
From that poll, Pew concluded that “fully 43 percent of internet users, or about 63 million American adults, bank online.” In 1998, only 13 percent, or “about 10 million American adults,” said they paid bills or banked online. However, something about the phrasing of their 1998 findings doesn’t sound quite right.
The official report says that “in 1998 . . . the Pew Research Center switched to asking all internet users . . . .” The italics are mine – I find the word “all” to be a sticking point. I’m an Internet user, and I haven’t ever been contacted by Pew. Neither have any of the other people in this office (or at least those without shouting distance).
Although the data might not be as all-inclusive as Pew makes it out to be, their conclusions still seem sound. More and more people are banking online. A lot of people are using the Internet for financial advice, as well – Pew says that proportion of Internet users has remained steady at 44 percent since 2000.
The organization’s surveys also found that wealthier people are more likely than less affluent individuals to bank online; the same goes for people with faster Internet connections as compared to those with dialup. And seniors are also less likely to bank online, although it’s become an equally likely occurrence between men and women.
Pew’s conclusions are almost beyond all doubt. It would just be nice if they’d publish more recent data, and perhaps more accurately describe their sample group.
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Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.
