An increasing number of consumers from New Zealand and Australia prefer to complete their banking transactions online rather than visiting the actual branch, recent data has unveiled.

According to a study released by Australian market research company Roy Morgan, the number of consumers from New Zealand who bank online has increased over the last 10 years (2001-2011), from 33.1 percent to 45.1 percent, with branch visits decreasing from 9.6 percent to 5.23 percent and phone banking going down from 16.6 percent to 2.37 percent. Additionally, in Australia more people used online banking instead of going to a branch in December 2011.

The same study has shown that during the period under review, ATMs have remained the most popular banking channel in both countries, with 77 percent of Australian consumers and 67 percent of consumers from New Zealand using an ATM.

Research has also indicated that the number of consumers from New Zealand who use the internet for banking activities has increased from 12 percent to 45.1 percent in just four weeks. The growth of online banking activities has determined a decrease in phone banking, while the number of people using mobile devices to conduct banking has decreased from 40.3 percent to 23.7 percent.

In Australia the number of people using the internet for their banking transactions has registered an upward trend since 2010. In December 2010, 45 percent of consumers used online banking.