Silver Surfers Click On To Convenience

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday May 30, 2007

GR

HUNTER retirees are catching up to their gen X and Y counterparts and logging on to the joys of internet banking, a new study has found.

There has been a 26 per cent rise in the number of over-50s, dubbed silver surfers, who have embraced the technology in the past year, according to the Commonwealth Bank's E-Money survey.

Australians are world leaders in online banking usage, with more than 1.3 million customers logging on last year.

Rankin Park's Bruce Deitz, 71, has banked online for five years and says he does so for the convenience and ease of monitoring his investments.

"I can look at my investments and accounts all on the one page, pay bills or anything I like really," Mr Deitz said.

"I can see how it would be a great help to people who aren't that mobile, too."

He said fears over the security of online banking had stopped some people.

"People are afraid unnecessarily," he said.

"These sites . . . are perfectly safe."

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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