Online banking is expected to maintain its upward momentum in Western Europe with the number of accounts set to increase by over 50 million in the next five years, according to a new study from IDC.
It is estimated that there were around 50 million European surfers accessing internet banking services by the end of last year (see
Mounting Interest In Online Banking, Says Jupiter) and Forrester foresees significant growth in this sector through 2007 (see
Online Banking Gaining In Popularity).
Despite inevitable fears over security, online banking is proving popular with businesses and consumers because it eliminates the need to visit a branch on a regular basis. This has a knock-on effect for the high street banks who are looking to reduce overheads while promoting the use of cost effective delivery channels like the internet.
The IDC report, Western Europe eBanking, Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2007 claims that the number of online banking accounts will increase by a CAGR of 11%, from nearly 100 million in 2003 to more than 150 million in 2007.
“In the current market situation, characterized by a high number of traditional banking accounts and expanding web penetration, one of the priorities in the Western European banking sector is to gradually migrate a proportion of banking accounts onto the web in order to leverage the advantages of this channel,” said Mirko Corbetta, research analyst with IDC’s European vertical market expertise centre. “Banks are forced to adopt a multichannel strategy that requires a rising level of integration among the different channels through which banks offer their services.”
In terms of market share, Germany and the UK will remain the top countries for internet banking in Western Europe, with France, Italy and Spain gaining ground as their banks implement online strategies.
