Online Banking and Bill Payment Have Grown Dramatically in the Past Year

comScore Networks has released an analysis of the state of online banking in the U.S. comScore found that more than 22 million users logged into accounts at the nations top ten banks in the first quarter of 2004, representing growth of 29 percent versus Q1 2003.During this same period, usage of online bank bill payment services has grown by 37 percent.More than 4.6 million consumers, or about 20 percent of the online banking population, actively used online bill payment services offered by the top ten banks. These consumers paid an average of 14 bills online during the quarter, with an average value of approximately $250. The total value of bills paid by consumers though the top ten banks in Q1 alone was nearly $17 billion. In addition to its assessment of online banking, bill payment and customer acquisition growth in the past year, comScores Q1 2004 Online Banking Report also includes an analysis of the competitive landscape. With the Q1 report, comScore launched the Online Banking Development Index (BDI) to serve as a composite benchmark of a banks performance in engaging its customers online. The Index is comprised of ten components across three major categories: Adoption, Engagement and Loyalty. In Q1 2004, Bank of America led the top ten banks with a BDI of 118, followed by Citibank (115) and Fleet (114). While Bank of America is strong across the board, its greatest strengths were in the Adoption and Engagement categories. Bank of America continues to grow its online customer base at impressive rates, despite an already large foundation of users. Moreover, Bank of America is second only to Citibank in the percentage of its online customers who use bill pay services. comScores Q1 2004 Online Banking Report includes: -- Quarterly online banking growth statistics -- Online banking usage profile (top activities, average number of logins, time spent, etc.) -- Demographic analysis of online banking users -- Quarterly online bill payment statistics -- New account acquisition statistics -- Online Banking Development Index rankings