Australians choose digital over branch


The landscape of banking channels is changing with more Australians turning to ATMs, internet and mobile banking as opposed to visiting a branch, according to a new study by Roy Morgan.
The study showed that ATMs are the most used service, with 83.4 per cent of Australians aged over 14 using an ATM in the last 12 months.
Internet banking was the second most used banking channel with 54.2 per cent using internet banking in the last 12 months, while mobile banking was up 3.1 per cent to 46.5 per cent.
Visiting a branch was the least popular option, with 45.1 per cent of bankers choosing to do so, down 3.5 per cent from 48.6 per cent.
Industry communications director at Roy Morgan, Norman Morris, said this was no surprise given the growing consumer trend towards frictionless mobile banking.
Morris said the quality of digital services provided by banks correlated with customer satisfaction, which was still sitting high at 80.9 per cent, compared to the long-term monthly average of 73.8 per cent.
“As banking services form a key link between the banks and their customers, these reports provide an invaluable insight into shifting behavioural trends,” he said. “By extension, understanding of the satisfaction levels with different services is important to financial institutions as it is the main form of contact/interaction with their customers.”
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