Tablet users more engaged with online banking

Online bank ING Direct has found that customers who use a tablet device to access its services are likely to be more engaged, with higher savings balances and more products than non-tablet users.

Mobile has now overtaken online banking as the preferred channel for ING Direct’s customers to handle their finances, with Apple iPad the most popular device behind the iPhone, according to the bank’s latest research.

ING Direct said its tablet customers are almost twice as likely to have multiple banking products, and 80 per cent higher savings balances than those using smartphones.

Tablet users also have more than 90 per cent higher payment account balances than mobile customers. Finally, tablet customers who use a native app log in four times more than customers who use their tablet’s browser.

ING Direct’s executive director of customer distribution, Lisa Claes, said 40 per cent of Australians now own a tablet and within four years, 22 million units will have been sold.

ING Direct has invested heavily in its mobile banking capabilities. In June last year, the bank created an app that lets users view their balances across all accounts before logging in and transfer money to anyone in Australia with email or SMS notifications.

This followed earlier customer complaints that its mobile banking app had a limited set of features.

ING Direct is a branch-less bank that relies on its customers accessing their accounts over the web, mainly using their mobile devices. In 2012, the bank reported a 280 per cent increase in mobile interactions with its customers.

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