Two thirds of over 50 year olds who use the internet are
now managing their finances online, according to a new survey
from NatWest OnLine Banking, placing silver surfers
among the fastest growing internet banking users in Britain.
What’s more, 64% of over 70 year old internet users
are logging on once a week to check the balance on their
accounts.
Online Banking
A tenth of respondents log on to check their balance every
day and over three quarters check it once a week. On average
though, silver surfers check their bank balance eight times
a month, pay bills twice a month and review their bank statements
six times a month. Unsurprisingly, the majority of activity
tends to be once a month when 37% pay bills and nearly a
third move money between their accounts.
Four fifths of respondents in the south west are regular
users of internet banking, with 21% logging on daily,
compared with only 60% of those respondents in Yorkshire,
the majority of whom prefer to use the traditional option
of visiting a branch to carry out their banking.
Internet Banking - Flexibility
Silver surfers prefer the flexibility that internet
banking offers them. Three quarters of respondents
use internet banking because it allows them to access their
account whenever and wherever they want. Convenience, it
seems, is the key reason why silver surfers use internet
banking, with only 21% citing better interest rates as a
motivating factor for logging on.
Not only is this age group increasingly confident when
it comes to using the internet to do their banking, but
96% of those online are also regular email users, 89% use
it to research information and 68% like to catch up on the
news and weather. A massive 57% of respondents book their
holidays online and 24% are also checking their shares online!
Britain’s over 50s are also making the most of the
internet even when they are abroad, with nearly a quarter
of respondents saying that they have accessed their bank
accounts from overseas, particularly those from London and
the east of England.
David Head, Head of NatWest OnLine Banking, said: “Silver
surfers are clearly embracing internet banking as we have
seen a 58% increase in the number of over 50s choosing to
manage their finances online in the last year alone.
“Internet banking provides people of all ages
with the flexibility to access their account information
whenever and wherever they want to – even from the
other side of the world!”
June 2004
Source: Nat West
