Gartner Survey Shows Number of Consumers in the U.S. and U.K. Using Online Banking Continues to Grow Across Income and Ages

Online Access and Income Are No Longer Considered Barriers to Online Banking

STAMFORD, Conn. - Online banking is no longer a niche channel. By understanding who is and who is not using online access, banks can work to increase adoption, better serve their clients and reduce the costs of routine customer service, according to Gartner, Inc.

In December 2008 and January 2009, Gartner surveyed 3,988 consumers ages 18 or older in the U.S. and the U.K. on attitudes and behaviors related to retail payments, banking and investment services. A total of 47 percent of U.S. adults and 30 percent of adults in the U.K. reported using online banking in the previous month.

“Over the past several years, online banking has been seen as a way of appealing to more affluent and younger clients,” said David Schehr, research director at Gartner. “However, what is becoming clear is that the overall level of consumer Internet use and the increasingly narrow segment of nonusers — particularly in the U.S. — are shifting the dynamics of who is using online banking and what they seek from it.”

The survey showed that just over half of all higher-income consumers in both the U.S. and the U.K. (household incomes of more $30,000 in the U.S. and more than £15,000 in the U.K.) utilize online banking. In comparison, 35 percent of Americans in lower-income households use online banking, but only 17 percent of those in lower-income British households use online banking.

This is more about online access than about interest in online banking. With consumers who have lower incomes but do use the Internet, the gap in online banking usage — compared with those with higher incomes — shrinks markedly in the U.K. and virtually disappears in the U.S. Comparing online banking usage between all lower- and higher-income consumers shows usage is one and a half times higher in the upper-income group in the U.S. than in the lower-income group, and three times as high in the U.K. But when only Internet users are compared, the ratio between higher-income and lower-income adults in the U.K. drops to less than 2-to-1, and is virtually even in the U.S.

The most-frequently cited reasons for not using online banking were channel-related, that is, simply preferring to use other channels, with 61 percent of U.S nonusers and 58 percent of U.K. nonusers selecting this as an important reason for not utilizing online banking. Forty-one percent in the U.S. and 38 percent in the U.K. said security was a most important reason for not banking online. The importance of access or technology as issues were substantially lower. Furthermore, in each country, only 20 percent of the nonusers cited more than two reasons as important. It is also worth noting that simple inertia plays a role in nonuse, as a substantial number of nonusers (25 percent in the U.S. and 31 percent in the U.K.) cited no single factor as important, yet the did not use online banking.

“Focusing on how the two main factors for nonuse — channel and security — link to the key demographics of income and generations provides clues for banks working to increase online acceptance,” said Mr. Schehr. “Compared with younger consumers, preboomers, who are 63 or older, are more explicit in their reasons for not using online banking — they are comfortable with other channels, such as the branch, and they are worried about the security of online banking. In a way, this creates a great opportunity to convert these nonusers to users, since the causes of their concerns can be more directly confronted and addressed.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Gartner Consumer Survey Shows That Barriers to Online Banking Use Continue to Fall.” The report is available on Gartner’s Web site at
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=980114&subref=simplesearch.

About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.