UK : Silver Surfers Lead the Way With Internet Banking

Two thirds of over 50 year olds who use the internet are now managing their finances online, according to a new survey from NatWest OnLine Banking, placing silver surfers among the fastest growing internet banking users in Britain. What’s more, 64% of over 70 year old internet users are logging on once a week to check the balance on their accounts. A tenth of respondents log on to check their balance every day and over three quarters check it once a week. On average though, silver surfers check their bank balance eight times a month, pay bills twice a month and review their bank statements six times a month. Unsurprisingly, the majority of activity tends to be once a month when 37% pay bills and nearly a third move money between their accounts.   Four fifths of respondents in the south west are regular users of internet banking, with 21% logging on daily, compared with only 60% of those respondents in Yorkshire, the majority of whom prefer to use the traditional option of visiting a branch to carry out their banking.   Silver surfers prefer the flexibility that internet banking offers them. Three quarters of respondents use internet banking because