Online Financial Services: Key Stats and Trends

Some key stats on the online financial services market, looking at online banking growth, abandoned basket on financial sites and more. 

Online Banking Growth

In the UK, online banking is used by 63% of adults, growing from 42% in 2010.

In Europe, Denmark has the highest usage of online banking, with around 90% banking online.

In the US, 69% of adults used internet banking in 2017.

PPC and Financial Services

In the UK, 504m searches were carried out in the financial services market. This traffic volume, and the potential profits makes it a competitive market.
Average Cost per Click (CPC) by Category (UK):

• Banking – £3.61
• Insurance – £9.90
• Investment – £4.15

Most Valuable Search Terms (UK):

• Car Insurance – 673,000 searches, £6.37 CPC
• Travel Insurance – 550,000 searches, £5.59
• Life Insurance – 93,000 searches, £23.81

In the US, 2016 search volume for financial services was more than 1.6bn, with banking the most valuable and searched for category.
Average Cost per Click (CPC) by Category (US):

• Banking – $6.83
• Insurance – $11.33
• Investment – $4.06

Most Valuable Search Terms (US):

• Student Loans – 301,000 searches, $35.44 CPC
• Credit Card – 450,000 searches, $18.56
• Mortgage Rates – 602,000 searches, $9.04

SEO and Financial Services

In the UK, the financial services SERPs are dominated by the comparison sites, with the top five capturing almost 38% of the market.

Online Banking Channel Preferences

The channels customers use to interact with banks are changing. Online has been growing, while mobile looks set to be the dominant channel, according to a PWC consumer survey.

Online banking customers are increasingly becoming ‘mobile-first’:

Online Financial Services Trends

The Econsultancy/ Adobe 2018 Digital Trends in Financial Services report looks at how finance brands are responding to new technology and customer expectations.
Financial services brands see customer experience and customer service as key differentiators, followed by product innovation and quality.
Q: In the next five years, what is the primary way your organization will seek to differentiate itself from competitors? 

Abandonment on Financial Services Websites

Abandonment rates for finance websites stood at 77.8% in our Q2 2018 Remarketing Report.
Financial sites tend to have higher abandonment rates than the average, often due to longer forms and relatively complex questions.