comScore released a report on the Canadian online banking sector showing that Canada is one of the world’s most developed markets for online banking. This doesn’t come as a surprise given the level of internet use per capita in the country.


In a place where banking fees and cellular fees, etc., are some of the highest in the world, Canadians are embracing the convenience of online banking. Of the 37 global markets individually-reported by comScore, Canada ranked number one in adoption of online banking, with 67.1 of Canadian Internet users banking online in April 2008. Other English-speaking countries
had significantly lower penetration, including the U.K. (49.5 percent), U.S. (44.4 percent), and Australia (41.7 percent).

– Canadians also led the world in online banking frequency, with an average of 8 usage days and 10.5 online banking visits per visitor in April.

– Canadians spent an average of 46 minutes on banking sites in April, viewing approximately 121 pages per visitor.

Of the nearly 24 million Canadian Internet users, 15.5 million visited a banking site in April. RBC Financial group led the category with 4.6 million visitors, followed by TD Bank Financial Group with 4.5 million visitors and Bank of Montreal Sites with 3 million visitors. Among those banks in the top 10, Bank of Montreal Sites experienced the greatest increase in visitation during the past year, growing 22 percent.

However, visiting a banking site and DOING banking online are two different things
.
Interestingly, the percent of consumers using online banking services is generally higher among younger age segments, the frequency of usage is slightly higher among older age segments. Highlighting the generational gap that exists among users of online baking, approximately 74 percent of those between the ages of 25-44 use online banking services compared to 63 percent among those age 55 and older.