UK banks and building societies are in danger of losing their online customer base through poor use of the internet and a failure to communicate with customers, according to new research.

IT consultancy Vanson Bourne said most mainstream UK banks list the internet as one of the most important banking channels for the future yet still fail to show sufficient customer support for their internet facilities.

Out of 30 banks tested in the survey, 20 failed to reply to an internet-based enquiry within 24 hours, including 10 which failed to reply at all.

Vanson Bourne said half of those that did reply failed to give a satisfactory answer, but even less than half were able to reply when questioned further or when an answer needed more in-depth research.

According to the survey, small banks and regional building societies, such as the Co-operative Bank and Birmingham Midshires, offered the most customer support over the internet.

Even internet-only banks did not produce incredible results, with mainstream high street banks being the least responsive.

Vanson Bourne said the results are surprising, because a majority of banks now claim that a fifth of their customers bank online, despite only offering online banking facilities in the past year or two. Most banks also said they expect more than a third of customers to take up internet banking within the next few years.

First published on uk.internet.com