Online Banking, Trading to Get Boost

The use of the Internet for banking and trading is likely to increase significantly in 1999, according to ZDNet’s InternetTrak survey.

The survey found that 12.8 million people said they are “very likely” to bank and trade online in the three months following the January survey period. That is a 47 percent increase over the 8.7 million who took part in these activities in the three months prior to the survey period.

“The growing sophistication of online trading services and the availability of up-to-the-minute stock information is letting investors take control of their own portfolios,” said Larry Dignan, a ZD editor. “This fast-paced trend has been rocking the foundation of the investment marketplace, making stock trading a mainstream phenomenon, and contributing to the notorious volatility of Internet stocks.”

The growth projection, according to InternetTrak, looks something like this: 5.1 million people said they are very likely to trade stocks or bonds online, a 70 percent increase over the 3 million who traded during the three months before the survey was fielded. More than 8 million (8.1 million) people said they are very likely to bank online, a 42 percent increase over the 5.7 million who have already done so. More than 4.5 million people said they are likely to open an account with an online brokerage firm during the three months after the survey period, a 119 percent increase over the 2.1 million who have already done so.

The InternetTrak study surveyed US adults over 18 years old who responded on a four-point scale from “very likely” to “not at all likely.”