5. Online banking

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At last some good news from the banking sector. Despite the turmoil in other areas of operation, online banking continues to perform strongly. In 2009, some 34.5 million online payments were processed through the Irish banking system, representing 13% growth compared with 2008. The number of banking customers who have registered for online banking grew by 16% to 2.6 million. And the number of times customers accessed their accounts online showed a similar level of growth – up 17% to 136.1 million times.

The taxpayer, who has had to prop up many of our banks, can take a little comfort from the numbers. Strong online banking adoption translates into lower operating costs and, in theory, is good for taxpayers in their new role as bank shareholders.

Source: Irish Bankers Federation/Irish Payment Services Organisation, quarterly report, March 2010 based on data supplied by 11 financial institutions

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