US personal finance companies are better prepared than their UK counterparts to capitalizing on the boom in online banking, according to a new report. Fletcher Research predicts that seven million people will bank online in the UK by 2003 but many traditional banks will lose out. British banks have missed the opportunity to develop customer bases online over the last two years, the report said. The online offerings of most UK personal finance companies are poor, it claims. Most UK companies failed to offer interactive services, which would have enabled them to cut mail, telephone and branch costs, it says. US companies such as Citibank, Fidelity, Charles Schwab and E*Trade are beginning to offer UK consumers better services at lower cost on the internet.
