bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Mukul Munish

More than 70 per cent of Hong Kong people say they are hesitant to use Internet banking because of security concerns.

This was revealed in a survey conducted by Pegasus Fund Managers for Sunday Money, which also showed that most people would use Internet banking only to check their account balances and transfer money between accounts.

The security doubts, to a certain extent, had been justified, as it was revealed earlier in the week that British Internet bank Egg had been targeted by thieves, becoming the first victim of online bank raiders.

A statement issued by Egg's parent, Prudential, said the hackers had failed to make off with any money.

The latest break-in followed a string of security concerns about Internet banking in Britain. In July, Barclays briefly shut down its Net banking service after a software glitch allowed some users to see other customers' accounts.

Britain's National Consumer Council said in a report earlier this month that online shoppers were nervous about releasing credit card and personal details on the Web.

Another aspect of the survey revealed that more than 65 per cent of people interviewed said they had never used Internet banking.

Almost all the people interviewed said they used Internet banking to inquire about their account balances, while 69 per cent said they transferred money between accounts. The survey also showed only 6 per cent used the Internet for mutual funds quotes and information. Most Hong Kong banks have been providing Internet banking services such as balance inquiry, bill payments and third party transfer for some months, but they have received lukewarm responses from customers.

Compared with other Asian countries such as South Korea and Singapore, where Internet banking services had caught on relatively fast, Hong Kong had been slow in implementing the new technology.

The survey also showed about 50 per cent of interviewees who had utilised the Net for banking did so because of cheaper fees for transactions, while 25 per cent used it for convenience. The rest used it to save time.

Of the people surveyed, 43 per cent had post-graduate qualifications, 36 per cent had received some other tertiary education and the rest had at least secondary education. The questions asked ranged from whether people had ever used Internet banking, its advantages and what factors would encourage them to use it.

A majority of people interviewed said they wanted more sophisticated security features to make them use the Internet, though most of them were not sure of what features they wanted to be incorporated.

More than 50 per cent said they wanted more user-friendly Web sites with adequate technical support to prompt them to use Internet banking. Sweeteners used to attract customers to Web sites include gifts, lucky draws and cheaper commissions and fees.

A majority of people interviewed said they did not know the difference between telephone and Internet banking, though most had used telephone banking.

Graphic: NET27gwz



Security concerns worry Internet banking users