WebProNews

Online banking features that focus on personalization and communication are what consumers value the most, according to a new survey by Gartner.

"As consumer adoption of online banking increases, banks are searching for ways to differentiate their services while maximizing the cost-effectiveness of self-service channels," said Stessa Cohen, research director at Gartner.

Stessa Cohen

"Online banking represents a key opportunity to achieve these objectives if banks can provide the features that consumers prize most highly."

The survey found U.K. and U.S. consumers are heavy users of online banking and have many options to choose from. More than half of consumers said they used only one online banking site, but more than 40 percent use two or more online banking sites, meaning they are able to compare online banking features on a regular basis. Banks that don't offer similar features will be at risk of losing their online banking customers.

Both U.S. and U.K. consumers ranked security as the most important online banking feature, followed by a single sign-on. They also ranked highly the ability to deposit checks online from home and the ability to set up a separate account to save up for a specific goal. Other top ranking features included the ability to sep up alerts for account and credit card balances and the ability to analyze spending and cash flow.

Younger online banking consumers value features that allow them to customize their online banking experience, while older customers seek tools that let them use current services more effectively or communicate better.

"The survey showed that banks and customers want very different things on a bank's Web site," said Ms. Cohen. "Customers want to personalize their experiences, analyze their transaction and payment data, so they can better manage their money, pay bills and transfer funds," Ms. Cohen said.

"Banks want to sell customers more products. Banks that neglect personalization trends now will sacrifice online - and possibly mobile - banking customers later."