Internet banking on the rise.

According to the findings of a recent marketing research report, 20 per cent of Canadians are signed up for Internet banking, double the number of a year ago. And those who are registered for the service use it frequently.

Conducted by Canadian Facts, one of Canada's oldest marketing and social research firms, the Banking Services Delivery Study shows six out of 10 people who use Internet banking services click on their accounts at least once a week. Three-quarters of the survey's respondents said they usually bank online at least once a month.

Canadian Facts senior research director Rhonda Grunier says Internet banking has experienced its biggest jump in usage over the past year; and she says the numbers will continue to increase.

"Sixteen per cent of Canadians who are not signed up for Internet banking say they are very or fairly likely to register for this service within the next six months," she says. "Mostly it's the convenience factor: people can access their accounts whenever they want at anytime of the day or night, and they don't have to leave the comfort of their own homes.

"I think there are a couple of reasons why we've seen such big growth over the past year. Number one, just as more people get access to the Internet, it becomes an option for more people. And I think there are people that just learn more and do more with the Internet and start using it more and get more comfortable with it, and it's not so hard for them to take that leap to start doing their banking online. There's also been a lot of promotion of the service over the past year from the major banks."

Among Canadians not planning to sign up with their financial institution for online banking, 32 per cent cited a lack of a computer and/or an Internet connection as the main reason; 20 per cent of all non-registrants and 33 per cent of those with Internet access at home said security concerns were preventing them from doing their banking online.

"Security is still an issue," Grunier says. "When we ask people who haven't signed up to tell us why they haven't, that still comes up as the key reason, so that's still a barrier for some people."

The study's findings also show 64 per cent of Canadians now have an Internet connection at home or at work, up from 54 per cent in 1999.

In addition to the Internet, the study also looked at how Canadians are making use of other options to conduct their banking. Automated Banking Machine (ABM) usage, for example, is very widespread, with 76 per cent of Canadians reporting at least one ABM transaction in the month prior to being surveyed by Canadian Facts.

"We look at phone banking, and we've seen a steady year-to-year growth," Grimier says, noting 23 per cent of Canadians surveyed reported a past month telephone transaction, compared to 19 per cent in 1999.

Debit card payments are also on the rise; results show 73 per cent of Canadians made at least one debit card payment in the month prior to the survey, compared to 65 per cent in 1999.

But the majority of Canadians continue to deal with their financial institution at the branch level, Grunier says. Fully six in 10 respondents said they visited a branch in the past month to conduct a transaction in person with a teller or other staff member.

"There will be some people who will never adopt (new methods of banking)," Grunier says. "Older people just aren't inclined to adopt. But I think as the population changes and you get younger people coming in to the population, (Internet banking will increase. And just as the banks develop more applications, more things you can do online, that type of banking may appeal to more people."

She says four in 10 Canadians say they are visiting branches less often than they did a year ago, mainly because there are other banking options.

Grunier says the Canadian Facts survey did not reveal Internet banking statistics specific to Northern Ontario, but says the findings did reveal a "considerable difference" between communities with a population of over 10,000 and those with a population of less than 10,000.

"In communities of 10,000 people and over versus under 10,000, there's a higher level of Internet penetration in larger communities," she says. "Then when you get to the major cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, it's considerably above average.

"Certainly (in the North), there's less Internet access, both at home and at work. So there's a considerable difference; in communities of 10,000 or more, 22 per cent have signed up (for PC banking), versus only 14 per cent in smaller communities."

Canadian Facts has been tracking banking patterns since 1994. Online banking surveys have been conducted for the past four years.

Quick facts

According to findings of a recent banking services delivery study conducted by Canadian Facts:

* Two in 10 Canadians are signed up for Internet banking

* Six in 10 registered Internet banking users report clicking on their accounts at least once a week

* Seventy-seven per cent of registered Internet banking users say they usually bank online at least once a month

* Nineteen per cent of Canadians with Internet access use the Web to manage their investments