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August 31 2007
Online bankers purchase more online
Some 252 million transactions were performed online last year using a credit card - an increase of 29% on the previous year, according to APACS. Confidence in e-commerce is getting another boost as ten million UK-issued payment cards have now been registered with MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa services - making these cards more secure when shopping online.
The banking association reports that 28.3m people shopped online in 2006, making an average of 24 purchases each (an increase of 186% since 2001).
The APACS figures show that people who use online banking typically make more purchases per year on average than non-internet bankers. Online banking customers make 29.2 purchases while non-users make 16.4 per year. Those who use both telephone and online banking make the most purchases, buying goods or services online on average 31.7 times a year.
Likewise, internet shoppers are more likely to use the full functionality of their online banking service than those who don't shop online.
The largest age group banking online are the 45-54 year olds with 4.2m of them going online. The fastest growing group banking online though since 2001 is the 55-64 year olds (+425%) whose confidence in the internet and e-commerce has grown over this time.
Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, said: "Our research shows that more and more people are turning to the internet rather than the phone to manage their finances. While younger people continue to make up the majority of online banking users, the greatest proportion of new internet bankers are the over 55s. As a group they have come to embrace the ease and efficiency that online banking offers."
Emma Herrod
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