MikeLigalig.com

by PNA

The cheque book and passbook have taken a back seat in the financial lives of many Canadians, as people continue to embrace online banking to streamline and simplify their everyday banking habits.

According to the 2011 TD Canada Trust Everyday Banking Poll, Canadians selected online banking as the most preferred method of paying bills (65 percent), followed by pre-authorized debits (16 percent), branch banking (8 percent), telephone banking (5 percent), at an ATM (3 percent) and by check in the mail (2 percent).

In fact, Canadians say the most significant change in banking habits over the past five years has been adopting online banking (46 percent), followed by paperless record keeping (12 percent) and viewing statements electronically (10 percent). Three-quarters of Canadians (76 percent) now use online banking to pay their bills.

"Anytime and anywhere, Canadians are increasingly turning to online banking for its convenience, security and ability to simplify how they manage their everyday finances," says Raymond Chun, TD Canada Trust Senior Vice President. "Online banking gives Canadians access to banking information whenever they need it - and they can also use a tablet or smartphone to check account balances, pay bills and make transfers."

But Chun says there is still an opportunity for Canadians to take advantage of other banking services that will help make saving and managing finances even easier.

According to the poll, less than half of Canadians (43 percent) take advantage of pre-authorized payments, only 8 percent use mobile banking and only 28 percent use automated savings programs.

"Setting up pre-authorized debits to pay credit card and other bill balances each month is a simple and effective way to ensure payments are never missed. This saves money on late fees and interest and helps maintain a credit rating," says Chun. "With mobile banking, you can access your accounts, transfer funds or make payments with your mobile device anytime, from almost anywhere in the world."

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