Bank clients increasingly log on to net

The number of people registered for internet banking has skyrocketed again, says the KPMG survey.

It revealed that the number of registered internet customers of the big five banks - ANZ, National, ASB, BNZ and WestpacTrust - rose from 345,000 in 2000 to 678,000 by the end of last year. The 97 per cent increase came after a 205 per cent increase in customers from 112,000 in 1999 to 345,000 in 2000.

The survey quoted an Auckland University residential customer survey, which showed that 26 per cent of bank customers have now joined internet banking, up from 15 per cent in 2000.

However, about 35 per cent of New Zealanders still did not have internet access.

The number of ATM machines also rose to 1832 from 1690. The number of branches declined again - by 15 to 858.

But the survey said that, in contrast to previous years, the branch numbers had not also been followed by a fall in staffing.

Numbers rose by 318 or 1.4 per cent in 2001.

The year before, staffing fell by 621, or 3 per cent.

Of the big five banks, only ANZ staff numbers fell in 2001 - down 271 on the year before.