Record number of Ontarians banking online

Last modified: 23 July 2010

For Immediate Release

Toronto, July 28, 2010 – More than ever, Ontario residents are going online to do their banking according to a new study by the Canadian Bankers Association. The bi-annual survey found that 61 per cent of Ontarians reported conducting banking transactions online during past year, a significant jump of six percentage points from 2008.

In addition, 43 per cent of Ontario respondents identified online banking as their primary means of conducting financial transactions, higher than any other types of banking.

“It’s clear that people in Ontario appreciate the ease and convenience of banking online, and the growth in this province over the past decade has been quite remarkable,” said Maura Drew-Lytle, Director of Communications for the Canadian Bankers Association. “In 2000, only ten per cent of Ontario residents did most of their banking online while 44 per cent did most of their banking at ABMs. Today all that has changed.”

The personal touch of in-person banking

While online is the most popular way to bank for the majority of Ontarians, the second most popular choice is banking in person at a branch. One quarter (26 per cent) of Ontario respondents identified in-person banking as their primary means of conducting financial transactions, while slightly less, 22 per cent, pointed to banking at an ABM as their primary choice when banking.

“While the convenience of online banking appeals to many living in Ontario there are also significant groups who appreciate the diverse options available at ABMs, and the personal touch that in-branch customer service representatives provide,” said Ms. Drew-Lytle. “Our research shows that people in Ontario choose to bank in different ways. This is a competitive business and banks in Canada ensure they can meet the diverse needs of their customers by offering a range of banking options and new technologies to make banking even more convenient.”

A mobile future

As technology continues to develop, banks in Canada now offer mobile banking services that allow Canadians to carry out a variety of day-to-day banking transactions through their smart phones. Although this technology is fairly new, Canadians from coast to coast appear enthusiastic about the prospects for this technology. When asked about the possibility of conducting banking transactions with a mobile phone in the next two years, 23 per cent of respondents Canada-wide believe it is likely. This number jumped to 54 per cent among BlackBerry owners and 64 per cent among owners of PDAs, including iPhones.

Banking and paying bills made easier

The survey results indicate that Ontario residents do indeed appreciate the ease that technology has brought to their banking experience, with 81 per cent reporting that technology has made their personal banking experience more convenient.

Ontarians’ comfort with online banking is also evident when looking at how they make their regular bill payments; 43 per cent identified online payments as their primary choice for paying bills, compared to 14 per cent making in-branch payments and only six per cent at ABMs.

Survey Highlights

Canadian and Ontario residents’ primary means of conducting financial transactions (percentage)

	2008		2010
Method	Canada	Ontario	Canada	Ontario
ABMs	28	20	23	22
Telephone banking	5	7	4	4
Online banking	35	40	45	43
In person in a branch	24	27	23	26
Combinations / Other	8	6	5	5

Canadian and Ontario residents’ primary method of making regular bill payments (percentage)

	2008		2010
Method	Canada	Ontario	Canada	Ontario
Computer/online	35	38	45	43
ABMs	10	5	8	6
By cheque	7	6	5	3
In person in a branch	11	13	12	14
Pre-authorized debit/credit	18	20	19	21
Telephone banking	8	8	5	6
Cash	1	1	1	1
Combinations / Other	10	9	5	6

Canadian and Ontario residents’ opinions on how technology has affected banking convenience (percentage)

	2008		2010
Convenience	Canada	Ontario	Canada	Ontario
Total more convenient	79	80	82	81
Neither	13	11	9	10
Total less convenient	6	6	4	4
N/A	2	3	5	5

Survey methodology

The survey was commissioned by the Canadian Bankers Association and conducted by The Strategic Counsel. The findings are based on a random, nationally proportionate sample of 1200 adult Canadians 18 year of age or older. Respondents were interviewed by telephone between May 25 and May 31, 2010. A sample of 1200 is accurate within +/-2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Among subgroups the margin for error is larger.

For more information and a detailed backgrounder on how Canadians’ bank please visit www.cba.ca.

For more information:
Andrew Addison, Canadian Bankers Association
Tel: (416) 362-6093, ext. 220
Cell: (416) 587-7733
E-mail: aaddison@cba.ca