The Apacs figures were taken from the first half of 2006, revealing that, for the first time, the number of adults using internet banking exceeded those using telephone banking, with the number having almost doubled since 2002. Moreover, the figures show that 16.9 million adults, a third of the adult population in the UK, now use some form of online banking service.
The research discovered that consumers were using the online banking services more regularly, with one in five users accessing their online account daily, while two thirds accessed their online account at least once a week.
The increase in popularity of internet banking has given rise to the first fall in the number of people using telephone banking, to 15.4 million from 16 million in the same period in the previous year.
The growth in online banking can be seen across all age groups. However, the highest number of users falls into the 16 to 24 category. The figures also show that the majority of adults aged between 25 and 54 who use the internet now use online banking. However, younger customers make up the greatest proportion of new users of internet banking.
