Brits Still Don’t Trust Internet Banking

Attitudes towards online banking remain split as many of us admit we still dont trust the technology, a new study has claimed.

Nearly half of Brits say they believe traditional over-the-counter banking is safer than going online, according to a survey from Kaspersky Labs, which found 46 percent of us still prefer visiting branches.

However despite this, only a small fraction of users said they followed even basic security measures such as keeping passwords secret, with one in five saying they did nothing to protect their financial data online.

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The survey, undertaken by Kaspersky Labs and B2B International, discovered that nearly half of users (49 per cent) feel vulnerable when making financial transactions online.

In addition, 54 per cent said they thought making payments offline was “more reliable”, with 46 per cent agreeing that offline banking is the safer option.

The survey also found that many users accessed their accounts using multiple devices, with 79 percent of those surveyed using desktops or laptops for online payments, 52 percent use their tablets, and 45 percent using their smartphones. Even Smart TVs got in on the action, with 12 percent of owners admitting to accessing their accounts using their device.

“Both banks and consumers need to be aware that if customers prefer in-branch banking, purely from fear of falling victim to Internet fraud, it will hinder the implementation of online and mobile payment systems,” said Kirill Slavin, general manager, Kaspersky Lab UK and Ireland.

“This means banks will need to invest more of their resources in low margin branches as an alternative. Meanwhile, the banks who have embraced online and mobile payments may have a persistent security concern as they could be putting their money and reputation at unnecessary risk otherwise. With this in mind, it is imperative that banks invest in the technology which ensures customers are kept safe in a secure banking environment.”

“This approach will not only give those customers who prefer traditional banking the confidence that online banking is secure, it will also diminish the risk for more careless customers, who might otherwise lose vital financial information.”

Many UK banks are trying to scale down their in-branch banking services as more and more customers use their mobile devices to access their accounts.

A recent Barclays survey found that usage of its mobile banking apps has grown hugely in recent times, with customers accessing the offerings 29 times a second. In contrast, the average customer only visits a physical branch less than twice a month, but uses Barclays Mobile Banking 26 times a month.

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