Online banking is more widespread in the more mature economies of
Asia, with Singapore leading the way, according to a region-wide survey
by research company NFO World Group - Hong Kong. One in five respondents
in the Lion City stated that they bank online. About 60 per cent of
those said they transacted with DBS via the internet, making it the most
popular online bank by far.
Citibank, UOBcyberbank and OUB trailed at 14, 10 and six per cent
respectively.
Hong Kong came out second in the rankings with 14 per cent saying that
internet banking was part of their daily lives. HSBC (47 per cent), Hang
Seng Bank (35 per cent) and Standard Chartered Bank (eight per cent)
were the three most popular banks.
Malaysia, where 11 per cent of respondents said they banked by web, held
third spot. Maybank2u, in particular, and Citibank were the biggest
providers of online banking services.
Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand each scored four per cent in
usage.
China held up the rear with not a single respondent saying they felt
confident enough to conduct bank transactions online.
