A majority of Indians prefer to use the Internet for banking and other financial services than shopping online, shows a new survey. Almost 57% of Indian respondents using the Internet prefer to bank online and use other financial services due to hassle-free easy access and time-saving features of online banking, according to the survey conducted by research firm Ipsos.
Checking information on products and services online comes a close second at 53%, while 50% shop for products online. Around 42% of respondents in India surfed online to look for jobs in the last three months, the survey said.
"Online banking has made things much easier for the people and it saves a lot of time. It has eliminated the hassle of the traditional way of banking where one had to stand in the queue and fill up several forms," Ipsos India head (marketing communication) Biswarup Banerjee said.
Most of the banks in India have introduced customer-friendly online banking facility with advanced security features to protect customers against cybercrime.
"The easy registration process for net banking has improved customers' access to several banking products, increased customer loyalty, facilitated money transfer to any banks across India and has helped banks to attract new customers," he added.
The Indian results closely track the global trends as well. Conducted among 19,216 people from 24 countries, the survey showed banking and keeping track of finances, shopping and searching for jobs are the main tasks of Internet users around the globe.
Overall, 60% of people surveyed used the Web to check their bank account and other financial assets in the past 90 days, making it the most popular use of the internet, Ipsos said.
Globally, shopping was not too far behind at 48%, the survey showed, and 41% went online in search of a job. In terms of country preferences, almost 90% of the respondents in Sweden use e-banking. Online banking has also caught on in a big way in nations like France, Canada, Australia, Poland, South Africa and Belgium, the survey showed.
The Germans and British come on top for using online shopping with 74% of respondents in both countries having bought something online in the past three months. They are followed by 68% of respondents in Sweden, 65% in the US and 62% in South Korea.
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