For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How UK Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Benjamin Ensor, October 9, 2009

The steady growth of online banking in the UK over the past decade is changing the way people use other banking channels. Half of UK adults still visit a branch each month, although the number of regular branch users has fallen. Banks' efforts to persuade . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Trends 2009: European Retail Banking eBusiness And Channel Strategy

The Financial Crisis And The Recession Have Changed Priorities For Executives

by Benjamin Ensor, May 12, 2009

Under the impact of the financial crisis and the recession, eBusiness and channel strategy executives at European retail banks will focus on retaining customers and increasing efficiency in 2009. In this environment, we expect to see eBusiness and channel . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Three In Five US Online Adults Have Cut Their Spending Because Of The Economy

Younger And Higher-Income Consumers Are More Optimistic

by Benjamin Ensor, Peter Wannemacher, November 3, 2008

With many American financial institutions struggling, it will surprise no one to hear that Americans are showing signs of pessimism and uncertainty about the national economy. A recent Forrester survey found that only one-third of Americans are optimistic . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Win Retail Deposits In The Credit Crisis

Fourteen Quick Things To Do To Sell More Savings Products Online

by Alexander Hesse, Benjamin Ensor, October 16, 2008

The acute worsening of the financial crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008, has left many banks desperate for retail funding. As the business owners of a major communication channel and a primary distribution channel, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

In The US, Few Use Financial Comparison Sites

by Benjamin Ensor, Peter Wannemacher, September 5, 2008

More than 9 million US adults have used a comparison Web site to research a financial product, and one-third of US online financial researchers say they trust product comparison sites. US online adults who use and trust comparison sites are wealthy, Web-savvy, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Europe's Financial Comparison Site Jungle

A Diverse Range Of Sites Are Battling To Control Online Product Distribution

by Alexander Hesse, Benjamin Ensor, September 4, 2008

Nearly three out of 10 European online financial researchers use personal finance comparison sites today. But there isn't a clear-cut price comparison sector in Europe. Instead, there is a jungle of sites in each market, with different consumer propositions, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Financial Comparison Sites Are Here To Stay

eBusiness Executives Need Strategies To Address Their Rising Popularity

by Benjamin Ensor, Alexander Hesse, September 4, 2008

The growth of online financial product research has been accompanied by the growth of an increasingly popular personal finance comparison site sector. The reason for this popularity is simple. Comparison sites offer what many online financial researchers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: How iDEAL Came To Conquer Dutch Online Payments

by Alexander Hesse, Benjamin Ensor, August 12, 2008

In late 2005, the big three Dutch banks launched iDEAL — an alternative payment system that lets Dutch online shoppers authorize online payments from their current account through their bank's online banking site. Because of its clear advantages over . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Europeans Show Little Interest In Contactless Payments

by Benjamin Ensor, Alexander Hesse, June 26, 2008

Contactless payments are reaching Europe — as shown by numerous trials in different countries and real rollouts in the UK and Austria. We asked online Europeans how interested they are in using contactless payments. We found that only 23% are interested . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

NFC Technology Is Revitalizing Mobile Payments

But Mobile Contactless Payments Face Huge Adoption Hurdles

by Benjamin Ensor, Alexander Hesse, April 22, 2008

Mobile contactless systems based on Near Field Communication (NFC) offer a much faster way to initiate payments with a mobile phone than SMS or other mobile network-based technologies, providing a clear improvement over earlier mobile payment systems. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Rabobank Reduces The Supply-Side Barriers To Mobile Banking

by Benjamin Ensor, Alexander Hesse, March 17, 2008

Rabobank has been a pioneer of mobile financial services and has a clear vision of the future of the channel. The Dutch bank was one of the first to launch transactional mobile banking services back in 2003. Finding that barriers like unclear costs and . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Non-Banks Make Their Way Into European Financial Services

Non-Bank Distribution Creates Opportunities For Established Firms

by Benjamin Ensor, Alexander Hesse, March 13, 2008

A growing number of European consumer brands, such as retailers, car manufacturers, airlines, and even football clubs, are offering their customers financial services like loans, savings, and insurance. There's a big opportunity: 12% of online Europeans . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Italian Online Banking Forecast: 2008 To 2013

by Benjamin Ensor, Alexander Hesse, February 5, 2008

With only 15% of adults regularly banking online, Italy is still Western Europe's online banking laggard. Many Italians don't use the Net regularly, and those who do are far more reluctant to use online banking than other Europeans are. A range of factors . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

French Online Banking Forecast: 2008 To 2013

by Benjamin Ensor, February 4, 2008

Online banking has grown steadily in France over the past decade, boosted by the growth in Net use overall, and is now used by 31% of adults, or 15 million people. We expect that growth to continue at a similar rate for the next five years because French . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Will The iPhone Boost Mobile Banking?

by Benjamin Ensor, Alexander Hesse, December 11, 2007

Five months after Apple launched the iPhone in the US, the iPhone has gone on sale in Europe. Now banks are asking: "How will it affect mobile banking?" We think that the iPhone is an important evolutionary step for mobile banking. On the one hand, it . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

How European Young Professionals Research Financial Decisions

by Benjamin Ensor, Reineke Reitsma, November 20, 2007

Young professionals are an attractive group for financial companies — they are an affluent segment of the population, whose incomes are likely to grow with their career paths, and who have an increasing need for financial products. There are currently . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

German Online Banking Forecast: 2007 To 2012

by Tim van Tongeren, Benjamin Ensor, November 20, 2007

Online banking has taken off in Germany — 39% of Germans now bank online. We expect online banking to grow by about 4% each year as a result of a gradual increase in Net users' confidence in the channel, banks' robust security measures, and strong competition . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Customer Advocacy 2007: How Customers Rate European Banks

by Benjamin Ensor, November 2, 2007

Customers who see their main bank as a customer advocate that does what's best for them, and not just what's best for its profits, are more likely to consider it for future financial purchases. On average, only 27% of Western European adults believe that . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

UK Online Banking Forecast: 2007 To 2012

by Benjamin Ensor, November 1, 2007

Online banking has grown gradually in the UK over the past decade and is now used by 31% of adults, or 15 million people. But growth has slowed in the past couple of years. That's odd because only 46% of UK Net users access their bank accounts online, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

European Mobile Banking: An Inconvenient Truth

Most Large Banks Offer Mobile Banking But Few Consumers Use It

by Benjamin Ensor, October 25, 2007

Although most leading European retail banks offer mobile banking services based on SMS and mobile Internet to everyone with a capable phone, only 5% of Net users use them today. Those who do tend to be young, technology-savvy males with above-average . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Changing Retail Payment Systems Landscape

Winners Are Emerging From The Flood Of New Payment Systems

by Benjamin Ensor, September 18, 2007

Retail payment systems are going through rapid change as a combination of technology innovation, new transaction types, and fraud drive improvements to existing systems, as well as the development of a large number of new alternative payment methods. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Many Online Banking Users Use Few Features

Why European Online Banking Users Don't Use All The Available Functionality

by Benjamin Ensor, September 10, 2007

While the majority of European banks now offer a wide range of online banking functionality, most of their customers don't use many of the available features. The most popular functions of online banking are checking account balances, looking at statements, . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

European Online Insurance Sales Forecasts By Country, 2006 To 2011  (218 KB PPT)

by Benjamin Ensor, September 4, 2007

European online non-life insurance sales forecasts per country (UK, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands).

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The UK's Nationwide Puts Its Members First

A Case Study In Experience-Based Differentiation

by Benjamin Ensor, August 15, 2007

In the late 1990s, the UK's Nationwide Building Society faced a challenge — many members were pushing the institution toward demutualization. Nationwide rebuffed this move by improving its customers' experience — changing its products, pricing, marketing, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Jyske Bank Transforms Its Banking Experience

A Case Study In Experience-Based Differentiation

by Benjamin Ensor, Tim van Tongeren, August 8, 2007

Denmark's Jyske Bank radically changed the experience that it delivers to customers. As part of its Jyske Difference program, the bank refitted all its branches with a new open layout, developed new "life stage" products, and made extensive use of touchscreen . . .