Online banking use grows, and service increases customer loyalty

A new report by Fiserv shows a major shift in the type of customers who use online banking, and those who use the service continue to show strong loyalty in banking and use more of the financial institution's services.

The company's latest Consumer Billing and Payment Trends report found that 72.5 million U.S. households use online banking services - roughly 80 percent of all households with internet access. That number represents a more than six-fold increase in popularity over the last 10 years. The number of people who use online bill payment has grown nearly eight-fold over the same time period.

The report also showed a shift in the gender and age demographics of those who used online bill payment. A customer segmentation analysis in 2002 found that men represented 61 percent of users. That majority continued until 2009, but Fiserv now says that women represent 51 percent of online bill payers. In 2002, more than half of users were also between 35 and 54. Now customers over the age of 55 make up 24 percent of online bill payers.

As the use of online banking and bill payment continues to grow across all demographics, the report found that institutions which implement efficient online banking solutions noticed increased customer loyalty - demonstrating that online banking should be a priority for inclusion in customer loyalty initiatives. Overall, 49 percent of bank customers said that banking online at their current institution made them less likely to switch banks.

Online banking customers were also increasingly likely to maintain other, more profitable accounts with the institution at which they banked online. In 2005, online banking customers were 8 percent more likely to have a savings account at the same bank. In 2010, the report found that figure had grown to 13 percent.

The differences in mortgage accounts were even more drastic. Customers were just 2 percent more likely to have a mortgage account with their bank if they used online banking in 2002. Five years later, 10 percent of online banking users have a mortgage account with the same bank.

But online banking customers are becoming much tougher to please. A recent study from ForeSee results found that overall customer satisfaction with online banking, while still excellent, dropped two points over the last year.

The study also found that larger banks - despite devoting much more resources toward their online banking solutions - scored much lower in customer satisfaction when compared with smaller credit unions.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Tony Coretto has worked on a variety of key problems in marketing database design, segmentation, householding, and distributed datamarts. One of his chief goals is to reduce costs, inefficiencies, and frustrations and improve client satisfaction by developing tools and techniques to foster better communications among marketing managers and systems development teams. Tony is a cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard College, was a graduate University Fellow at Stanford University, and is a member of the World Entrepreneurs Organization (WEO), the Bank Marketing Association, and other industry groups. He has been quoted in Inc. Magazine and has led in-house seminars for banks on database marketing.

Save The Trees – Use Less Paper With Bank of America Online Banking

Banking doesn't have to be that hard nor that wasteful. You don't have to run around like a headless chicken while killing trees in the process. There's a better solution to banking that's not only convenient but also ecologically friendly.We all use paper everyday – to write on, to draw on, to scribble on, to wrap fish in or to play wastebasket basketball with. We also use paper for things like bank account statements and billing statements. If you multiply that with the number of people in the country that’s a lot of paper that’s being used up – and a lot of trees.

That’s also a lot of paper records that you need to have and keep track of – not really an easy task for many. But there’s a way to get rid of the paper and still get the same information from your accounts and billers – online banking.

If you already have a Bank of America bank account then you’re eligible to sign up for their online banking service. Register using your ATM or debit card number, the PIN, your social security number and a valid email address.

Once inside you can view all your personal Bank of America accounts – savings, checking, money market accounts, and certificates of deposits, credit card, lines of credit, mortgages and even individual retirement accounts. This also includes all your out-of-state accounts (except in Washington State and Idaho). You can also view your business accounts although you will need to apply for another ID for that.

Eligible accounts automatically get the electronic versions of their paper statements – just that you don’t have to wait for it in the mail. You have the option of getting the electronic statements while still receiving the paper statements through the mail.

But you can choose to opt out of the paper statements altogether and just stick with the electronic versions. Once you do that you will receive email notifications telling you when an electronic statement is available for your perusal. You can either print them out or download them to your computer for your records.

You have that same option when it comes to your bills once you sign up to the optional bill pay service. Simply add the billers that you already pay into your “pay to” list and opt to receive their electronic bills instead of the paper bills. Like the electronic statements, you will also receive an email notification once you get an e-bill.

To pay the bill simply click on it, enter the amount you want to pay and set the payment schedule (hopefully 5 business days before the due date to give your biller time to process and credit your account). Do take note than not all billers send e-bills – check the list on the Bank of America Website.

With bill pay you can pay almost anyone at anytime. You can even choose the account you want to pay it from – your checking, your money market account or your credit card. You can even set up recurring payments for your regular bills and do schedule it up to a year in advance.

With online banking you not only save the trees but you also give yourself the convenience and save time that you would have spent writing checks and mailing them out.



By: O. Goldstein 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

If you've been having a difficult time searching for BOA Online Banking Sign In page, then waste no more time. Access Bank of America's online bank services when you visit BOA Online Banking Sign In page right now. http://www.checkroutingnumber.org/boa-online-banking-sign-in