Checking Accounts: Who’s Winning the Online Battle?
Report Summary
Checking Accounts: Who’s Winning the Online Battle?
With a better understanding of who they are beating and to whom they are losing to, banks can better tailor their marketing messages both online and offline.
Boston, MA, October 16, 2008 – A new report from Aite Group, LLC identifies the checking-account features consumers consider the most important, the types of accounts they select, and which banks consumers choose when they research checking accounts online. Based on the results of more than 4,000 completed searches at FindABetterBank.com (FABB), the report also examines the success a number of brick-and-mortar and Internet banks have achieved in converting consumers researching checking accounts online.
Many bank marketers believe that a checking account is a springboard to a deeper customer relationship, and, as a result, expend a great deal of effort and resources in attracting new checking account customers. Despite this, they are often faced with insufficient data to help them measure their marketplace performance. Even with the emergence of the Internet as a tool for consumers to research and apply for checking accounts, marketers still do not know how they fared in situations when a prospect researched accounts on their site but didn't apply, nor what other banks prospects considered when they researched alternatives. This report helps banks' marketers overcome that knowledge gap by identifying which banks consumers chose when they researched checking accounts online, as well as the types of accounts they selected.
"Interestingly, 'free' checking accounts were not the type of accounts most frequently selected online," says Ron Shevlin, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of this report. "Today's savvy customers likely understand that free checking accounts are not necessarily without other hidden costs. Instead, banks would be well advised to focus attention on other attributes that customers find valuable, such as overdraft protection or offering interest-bearing checking accounts."
This 28-page Impact Report contains 19 figures and 10 tables. It examines the conversion rates of Bank of America, Bank of Internet USA, Bank of the West, BB&T, Charles Schwab Bank, Chase, Citibank, Citizen's Bank, Colonial Bank, Comerica Bank, Commerce Bank, Compass Bank, E*Trade, Everbank, Fifth Third Bank, First Bank, First Tennessee Bank, Guaranty Bank, HSBC Direct, Huntington Bank, ING Direct, KeyBank, M&I Bank, M&T Bank, National City, PNC Bank, RBC Centura Bank, Regions Bank, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust, TCF Bank, TD BankNorth, U.S. Bank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo.
Clients of Aite Group's Retail Banking service can download the report.