EDB - Minibank usage falls for the first time ever

(Oslo, 31 January 2006) The use of minibanks and telephone banking in Norway has fallen for first time ever. At the same time, the use of new payment forms such as internet banking and internet shopping are surging ahead. These trends are identified by EDB Business Partner’s annual statistics for 2005.
The number of transactions processed by EDB’s minibank systems fell by 9% in 2005, and telephone banking usage fell by 11%. The number of payments through internet banking systems increased by 26% in the year.

“The majority of people are now showing greater interest in the new ways available to manage their accounts. The trends we are seeing now are only beginning. The way Norwegians manage their money in 10 years time will be entirely different to anything that most of us could have imagined just a few years ago”, comments EVP Petter Idar Jenssen of EDB.

Use of minibanks and telephone banking is falling
The use of minibanks has been on an upward trend ever since the first minibank was installed in Norway in 1978, but it seems that the trend has now turned. In 2005, EDB recorded almost 76 billion transactions through minibanks, which was almost 9% less than in 2004 and the lowest level for several years. The use of another traditional method for carrying out transactions, telephone banking, is also falling. EDB’s statistics show a decline of 11% in 2005 to just under 70 million transactions.

New methods of payment on the increase
EDB launched the operation of Norway’s first internet banking service in 1996. 10 years on, internet banking has become the dominant system for paying bills. EDB recorded almost 100 million internet payments in 2005, an increase of 26% from 2004. Virtually all Norwegian adults now use internet banking. EDB’s systems hold details for 2.3 million internet banking accounts.

The typical internet bank user is male and between 21 and 50 years of age. A sample of transactions processed by EDB shows that 6 out of 10 users are male, and 70% are between 21 and 50. The average internet banking user is 36. The over-80 age group accounts for 0.5% of users. Internet banking traffic is heaviest in the mornings between 09: 00 and 12:00 and in the evening between 19:30 and 22:30. Internet banking is used most on Mondays and on the usual days for salary and pension payments, which are the 12th and 20th of each month.

More and more Norwegians are shopping on the internet. 2005 saw a 65% increase in the number of internet shopping transactions, and the trend already established at the start of 2006 points to further growth for sales of products and services over the internet.

“We see an ever-increasing trend for the internet to be the channel people prefer both to make payments and to buy products that they would previously have bought in the shops. We also see internet banking taking over many of the services previously provided by telephone banking, but many people still use telephone banking, not least to check their balances”, adds Petter Idar Jenssen.

New record for card use in 2005
Payments by card continue to increase, and card use rose by 27% between 2004 and 2005. EDB recorded almost 307 million card transactions in 2005. The highest number of transactions carried out in a single second in 2005 was 225.

EDB is responsible for IT operations for major parts of the Norwegian banking market. EDB’s statistics relate to traffic in EDB’s systems, and represent around 70% of the total number of transactions in Norway.

EDB Business Partner ASA is listed on Oslo Børs with the ticker code EDBASA. More information on EDB can be found at: www.edb.com

Contact Information

Geir Remman

EVP - Corporate Communications

EDB

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