First direct have recently released figures about their customer base for 2011, and whilst most statistics come from surveys, these are taken directly from First Direct’s online banking and text services and give a good reflection of usage.

With just under 2 million customers, 57% of these are now active internet banking users (logged on within 90 days) and 37% are registered with the bank’s text message service (for receiving statements, balances and transactions).  Whilst you would expect a high level of take up for these online services, the more interesting trend is amongst their older population of ‘surfers’.

24% (281,771) of customers are aged over 55, and whilst they don’t fair well against the overall take-up of online services, they buck the trend when taken in isolation.  49% (140,650) of the 55+ customers are classed as active internet banking users, and a further 20% (57,244) using text messages.

These results are in contrast to the figures during the the National Silver Surfer week that was held this month, which highlighted that as many 1 in 5 people aged 55-64 have never even used the internet*.  This campaign by Digital Unite to promote the use of digital technologies amongst older people has been running since 2002, though it seems First Direct’s silver generation are well ahead of the game!

Natalie Cowen, Head of Brand at First Direct commented:

“We were the first telephone bank when we launched just over 21 years ago, one of the first to introduce internet banking and the first to launch a truly transactional ‘Banking on the go’ iPhone App.

“Many of our customers have been with us since the beginning of our journey of innovation, so I’m not surprised that many of them, including our over 55s, choose to regularly do their banking online.”

First Direct Channel Usage

* Source: ONS