Online Banking “Now A Proper Part Of Christmas Day”

Alongside sitting down to a slap-up dinner and watching the Queen’s speech, it seems that online banking is becoming a common occurrence for Christmas Day, new research has found.

A study by Halifax bank found a 37 percent increase in the number of customers logging on to their online banking accounts, as more than one in ten checked their details on Christmas Day, with the busiest times of day between 10am and 12pm and then between 8pm and 10pm.

Customer activity wasn’t just limited to checking accounts, however, as users appeared to start paying off the cost of Christmas immediately. 61,560 customers took the opportunity to make a payment on Christmas Day, while 46,617 transferred funds to another account.

Additionally, 215 of customers logging on applied for an overdraft, while 105 were looking to take out a credit card.

Festive

The study also found that the majority of logins on the day are conducted using a mobile or tablet device, as more and more customers looks for flexibility when checking their accounts. Halifax found that 71 percent of all logins on Christmas Day were made via a mobile (62 percent) or tablet device (9 percent).

“At this time of year, we are constantly reminded how expensive Christmas can be. It seems a growing proportion of the population are now wasting little time in sorting the bills from the festive period and ensuring that they manage their finances throughout the holiday,” said Anita Hockin, head of digital for Halifax.

“The increased popularity of online banking is helping to facilitate a more proactive attitude to money management, meaning that banking is becoming truly 24 hours 365 days a year for many.”

More and more customers are using their mobile devices for banking, with recent figures from Juniper Research estimating that more than 1.6 billion payments across the world were completed using a smartphone or tablet this year, a figure which is set to top the two billion transactions a year mark by 2017.

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