Online banking has been around for such a significant amount of time now that it is very hard to imagine life without it. Some people may even struggle to get their heads around the fact that carrying out the most basic of banking transactions involved going along to the high street branch with your account book in hand, fill out a form with a pen that was chained to a counter and handing your form over to a person behind a desk.
Even in the earlier days of online banking, there was a limit to what you could do and many people were slow to get on board, a mixture of a lack of technical know-how and security concerns leading to some scepticism.
However, the use of online banking in the UK has rocketed over the last few decades. In 2007, only 30% of all account holders were carrying out their banking online. By 2019, that percentage had risen to 73% and the trend of the last 10 years or so would suggest that it is set to continue to rise in the years to come.
Why has Online Banking Increased in the UK?
One of the reasons for the increased uptake in online banking is the fact that all high street banks now offer it as part of their service and there are now many banks that exist solely online.
Increased internet speeds and a great availability of broadband across the UK have meant more and more people getting online in general, and this has also increased the use of online banking across age ranges.
Another factor in the growth of online banking use is the great range of services available to customers. They can view statements, pay bills, transfer money, receive money and apply for other financial products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages thanks to online banking.
Technology Leads Online Banking Behaviour
While early adapters to online banking mainly used desktop and laptop computers, the trend in recent years has been to favour mobile apps on smartphones and tablets. Not surprisingly, it is younger customers who are likely to use banking apps with a poll carried by Ipsos Mori in 2019 finding the 64% of people aged between 16-34 had used a mobile app for banking.
This is more than double the amount of people who were regularly using a mobile banking app five years previously with only 31% using an app for their banking in 2014.
Mobile apps have greatly contributed to the surge in online banking overall, however, users must keep security concerns in mind while using them. You should never use a mobile banking app when connected to public WIFI or mobile data such as 4G or 5G. You should also make sure that your rest passwords and passcodes on a regular basis to guard against fraud.
One welcome security feature of mobile banking apps is that they now feature biometric security, which means they can be accessed with fingerprint and face recognition.
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