ABA Survey: 62% of U.S. adults now prefer online banking

A new survey shows that 62 percent of U.S. adults now view online banking as their preferred banking method, compared to just 36 percent in 2010, according to information from the American Bankers Association (ABA).

Results of 2011 ABA survey on preferred banking method for all ages.

The survey shows that older American's--those over the age of 55--are helping drive the online banking trend. Results of the survey, which was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, show that 57 percent of these adults prefer online banking, a 35 percent increase over 2010 numbers.

In second place behind online banking was bank branches, with 20 percent of participants identifying them as their preferred method. ATMs were a far third choice and were selected by 8 percent of participants.

ABA has conducted the survey annually since 1998, but 2011 was the first year it was conducted entirely online.

"These survey results hammer home the point that retail banking has changed for good," ABA Senior Council Nessa Feddis said in a released statement.  "They tell us for the first time that customers of all age groups prefer the speed and convenience of conducting their banking transactions on the internet."

With online banking becoming increasingly convenient for consumers, retail bank branches must find a way to keep themselves relevant.

Feddis said that banks "are still committed to providing multiple choices to serve the needs of all customers. Bank customers will continue to have the choice to use branches, ATMs, telephone, mobile devices or the Internet to conduct their transactions."

Another notable piece of survey data was that only 1 percent of respondents selected mobile banking as their preferred method, down from 3 percent in 2010. With mobile payment and cloud banking applications continuing to evolve, ot will be interesting to see how this number changes in 2012.

For more: -see this release

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