Report on the internet economy In focus: The financial sector IV. 2005 Number of internet banking customers keeps rising rapidly

01. 06. 2006.

In association with Sun Microsystems Hungary, GKIeNET Ltd. and T-Mobile conduct quarterly surveys on corporate internet usage and the development of the electronic economy in Hungary. The present report outlines the financial sector’s position in the internet economy.

I. SUMMARY

  • The GKIeNET – T-Mobile e-Finance Index, which represents the internet-related anticipations of financial institutions, was at 16.0 on a scale between –100 and +100 in the fourth quarter of 2005, reflecting a mild optimism as usual in the sector.

  • At December 31, 2005, the number of customers with internet banking accounts at domestic credit institutions was 733 thousand in the household segment and 112 thousand in the corporate sector.

  • Over the past year, the number of individual and corporate internet banking customers increased by 47% and 44%, respectively.

  • Online transfer will continue to be the fastest growing transaction type.

II. SURVEY FINDINGS

The internet usage indicator of financial service providers is the mathematical average of the above subindexes. In the fourth quarter of 2005, the GKIeNET – T-Mobile e-Finance Index was at 16.0, reflecting a small drop from the previous quarter. The decline can be attributed to the weaker expectations of insurance companies across the board. The gap between the expectations of banks and insurance companies regarding financial services over the internet has increased since the previous quarter, because the responding insurance companies were once again less optimistic than banks, as seen over the previous periods.

GKI – T-Mobile e-Finance Index

Internet banking customers

At December 31, 2005, credit institutions offering internet checking account services had 733 thousand individual customers with internet banking agreements, up 10% from the previous quarter and up 47% year-on-year. The number of individual online customers is expected to rise to 903 thousand by the end of 2006.

The number of corporate internet banking customers was 112 thousand at the same time, reflecting an increase of 9% over the previous three months and a growth of 44% year-on-year. The number of online banking customers in the corporate segment is expected to exceed 139 thousand by the end of 2006.

Number of individual internet banking customers

Banking services over the internet

Banks predict that online transfers will continue to be the fastest growing internet banking services in the household and corporate segments alike. Transaction monitoring and account inquiries are ranking number two and number three, respectively. In contrast to the previous quarters, the responding credit institutions predict growth in other areas of banking services (including investment products and direct debits) as well.

Expected changes in individual online banking transactions over the next twelve months as projected by banks
– balances , Q4 2005

III. ABOUT THE SURVEY

The survey was conducted over the period of March and April 2005, by means of questionnaires targeting credit institutions to collect information about their positions in the fourth quarter of 2005 and about  their future expectations. Banks were represented at 61% in terms of total assets.