Celebrating a milestone: RBC honours 5 millionth online
banking client
TORONTO, April 17, 2009 — Today RBC marked a
milestone by honouring Jane Caissie as its 5 millionth online
banking client. When Ms. Caissie, 61, enrolled in RBC Royal
Bank online banking, she wanted to regain some independence
after hip surgeries from consecutive injuries forced her to
explore other ways of accomplishing her daily activities.
"I'm old-fashioned by nature and technology intimidates
me. I just prefer talking to people face to face," said
Ms. Caissie. "My daughter had been talking to me about
online banking for the past year. Maybe it was my injuries
or the fact that she is moving, I just knew it was time to
try it. I'm surprised how easy it was to sign up. At first,
my daughter watched me pay bills to ensure I was doing things
right. Now I wonder why I waited so long to try banking online."
Ms. Caissie was presented with a $500 cash prize as the
honourary 5 millionth online banking client, which she says
will help her save for a long-awaited trip to Hawaii. She
is part of a growing trend of Canadians who explore online
banking as a lifestyle choice or imperative in their later
years.
In fact, Boomers aged sixty and over have formed the fastest
growing segment of online banking clients at RBC, representing
86 per cent growth over the past six years. This is followed
by the 51 to 59 age group representing 33 per cent growth
for the same time period. The highest percentage of all of
our online banking clients at RBC comes from Western Canada,
from Alberta, followed by British Columbia. And more women
(51.1 per cent) than men (48.5 per cent) bank online with
RBC.
"The ability to manage your finances and have so much
of your own bank information at your fingertips without leaving
your home is probably one of the biggest developments in the
last decade. We hear from people all the time who tell us
how dramatically this has changed their lives," said
James McGuire, vice-president, Online Strategy. "Whether
it's out of necessity, a matter of convenience, or a way to
save on transaction costs, online banking offers an economical
and practical solution for doing your everyday banking and
more."
Convenience is another reason people have been turning to
online banking at an increasing rate. Since electronic statements
were first introduced to personal banking clients in July
2006, over 3.2 million RBC accounts have switched to eStatements
saving approximately 511 metric tonnes of paper. New services
within online banking such as RBC International Remittance,
allows clients to send the equivalent of up to $1,000 CAD
a day overseas for $13.50 per transaction. The new Pay Multiple
Bills feature allows client to pay up to 10 bills at once,
for only one transaction fee.
What does the future of online banking hold? According to
Mr. McGuire, it will be more of the personal touch, which
should make new online banking clients like Ms. Caissie very
pleased. "There will be an array of opportunities for
clients to interact directly with a bank representative at
different points of their online banking experience, and this
could one day include video conversations," Mr. McGuire
added. "For example, clients may have questions while
completing an application or need some timely advice. While
we currently offer live chat on our public information websites,
our intent is to expand this service into online banking."
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To arrange a media interview, please contact:
Linda Sadlowski, Corporate Communications, 416-974-1754
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