Survey: Customers Prefer Online Banking

The Washington, DC-based American Bankers Association (ABA) has announced that, according to its recent survey of 1,000 consumers, more bank customers prefer online banking compared to any other method.

A full 25 percent of those surveyed named the online channel as their preferred method of banking, according to the ABA, followed by visiting branches (21 percent) and using ATMs (17 percent).

"This marks a watershed change," Nessa Feddis, ABA senior counsel and retail banking expert, said in a press release. "It tells us that for the first time, more consumers prefer the speed and convenience of conducting their banking transactions on the Internet than visiting their local branch. It also tells us that consumers now have confidence in the accuracy and security of online banking."

According to the ABA survey, online banking is the preferred banking method for all customers under the age of 55. Those in older demographics still say they prefer visiting their local branches (26 percent) and using ATMs (17 percent). Mobile banking is the preferred method for one percent of all consumers in the survey, who mostly fall within the 18- to 34-year-old demographic. The popularity of ATMs was down in all age groups, the ABA says.

The annual survey of 1,000 consumers was conducted for the ABA by Ipsos-Reid, an independent market research firm, from August 14 to 16, 2009.