No looking back for online banking in APAC

NORTH SYDNEY— The latest report from global independent research and advisory firm Financial Insights presents forecasts, which shed new light on Internet banking usage across nine countries in Asia Pacific. These include Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

"Growth in Internet banking usage has not abated, and it shows no signs of doing so," notes Douglas Jaffe, Senior Research Manager, Financial Services for Financial Insights Asia/Pacific, "and this will create a future retail banking landscape that looks decidedly different from that of today."

An online shift will have a serious impact on retail financial institutions, from both a customer service and a cost perspective. With the move to self-service channels like the Web, banks will be challenged to remain relevant to the online customer.

More importantly, they will find themselves in a position where the bulk of their costs are tied up in offline channels that service a shrinking customer base. As more affluent and educated customers move online, a bank's most expensive channels could end up servicing a majority of its least profitable customers.

"How banks evolve the branch to adapt to these new realities will be a major factor in their ability to compete going forward," adds Jaffe.

Internet banking has reemerged as a key topic of discussion at retail institutions across Asia/Pacific. New information adds to the understanding of Internet banking customers and their habits, service preferences, and channel usage. However, a clear picture of the present and future size of this group has so far eluded observers.

Credible forecasts will be necessary to understand the future impact on retail institutions, as customers increase usage of Web banking. In many countries, the online banking population now numbers in the millions, with countries like Singapore boasting over a million active Internet banking customers, and Korea with an astounding 16 million.

Perhaps more amazing is the future potential of India and China, which will see Internet banking users numbering in the tens of millions in the not so distant future. This growth will have a powerful impact on how banking develops in these countries.

The forecasts in this latest report are an excellent reference for planning and benchmarking the growing influence of the Web on retail banking. Forecasts are presented as absolute figures and as percentages of both population and Internet users.

This study forecasts Internet banking usage from 2003-2007 across nine Asia/Pacific countries. These allow comprehensive comparisons across countries, as well as providing insight into the state of each individual market.