MEDIA-I: Webstats - Asians take to online banking

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