Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
It may be cold outside throughout much of the country, but Bank of America says customers are starting to warm up to online banking in a big way. The Charlotte, N.C.-based banking company announced its online banking service has reached 7 million subscribers, making the bank the first financial-services company to hit that level. BofA's free service had 4.7 million subscribers at the start of the year, making for a 49% growth rate in the user base in 2003. The company also announced that 3 million customers now use the service to pay bills, more than use any other bill-payment service, up by two-thirds during the year. The bank credits ease of use, increasing consumer confidence in Internet banking and bill paying, and such features as electronic statements, zero-liability on bill payments, and electronic bills for the dramatic increases in usage. Its customers get e-bills from more than 275 billers. The bank's bill-payment feature is supported by CheckFree Corp., a Norcross, Ga.-based processor of online-banking transactions.
