THE NUMBER of people using internet banking increased by 27.8 per cent last year, with 2.2 million people now using the service.

There was a 31.6 per cent rise to 30.7 million online transactions during the period, according to the Irish Banking Federation/Irish Payment Services Organisation Online (Ipso) report on personal banking.

“We can see from the data compiled to date that online banking is on a significant growth path in Ireland,” said Irish Banking Federation chief executive Pat Farrell.

“However, in a leading online adopter like Norway, the average customer made around three times more payments online, indicating there is considerable scope for further growth.”

International payments have also surged by 85 per cent year on year, while cheque transactions declined for the first time last year.

“Online banking is facilitating the migration from cheques and other paper-based payment methods to electronic payments,” said Una Dillon, Ipso’s head of card services and communications. The estimated cost of managing and processing cheques reaches about €1.4 billion every year, the equivalent of 1 per cent of annual GDP.

The report revealed customer satisfaction with internet banking is now higher than that for dealing directly with a bank branch.