29 September 2003

New independent research commissioned by Detica, the independent IT services company, reveals a sizeable, potential opportunity for Interactive eStatements (electronic statements from organisations such as banks, building societies, retailers, phone companies or utilities, sent via e-mail or Web). Indeed, 55% of adults in the UK say receiving eStatements would be acceptable or very acceptable.

However, whilst organisations which switch from paper to Interactive eStatements could benefit from multi-million pound savings, Detica's research also shows clearly that some astute marketing will first be required in order to address existing customer misconceptions and communicate the benefits succinctly.

The research - assessing the attitudes towards Interactive eStatements of 1011 adults, representative of the GB population - shows that existing online behaviour augers well for the potential introduction of Interactive eStatements, with three out of five adults logging onto the Internet within the past month and, of those, 34% claiming to already receive some form of statement online.

Moreover, one fifth of customers already attempt to analyse the data contained in their statements in some detail, whilst (alarmingly) a diligent 31% of those questioned claim to have previously discovered statement errors. By making it easier for customers to analyse and quiz their statements effectively, companies can begin to positively effect the relationships they have with them.

Within such a favourable environment, Interactive eStatements looks like an extremely attractive proposition capable of revolutionising this area of customer reporting - for both organisations and customers.

However, Detica's research shows that 60% of consumers remain unaware of the potential benefits of eStatements, whilst 28% cite security and privacy concerns over the paper option.

Jeremy Braune, Head of Customer Experience at Detica, notes: "from the customer's point of view, the main obstacle is one of awareness and understanding. Even those customers aware of e-statements regard them as static pdf files which they print off or save on their hard drives, with little or no additional value over paper statements. With Interactive eStatements, we're actually talking about a whole new level of reporting and analysis, where customers can check spending patterns and click straight onto particular statement items to find out much more detailed information, rather than having to call through to their statement provider - a time-consuming process'.

Braune goes on: 'It is not just the functional aspects that need to be communicated - the benefits need to be stated too.'' These include:

Braune comments: 'Once these benefits had been explained, consumers feel them to be highly significant and worthwhile. Few, however, are able to identify these potential benefits unaided'.

Braune also insisted that for participating organisations benefits are not limited solely to cost cutting: "For their part, companies can also observe trends in individual and segment spending and use the resulting data to run marketing campaigns and deliver personalised, individual messages which might flash onto the screen when users log on - a far cry from the humble mailshot!"

The only other significant barrier for banks and other providers to overcome is that of consumer concerns relating to security and privacy. 28% of consumers cited this as an issue with regard to Interactive eStatements. Again, marketing can play a very significant role in demonstrating that Interactive eStatements are safer and consumers are less at risk of fraud by receiving statements in this way. Significantly, follow-up cross-industry focus group work by Detica has also shown that, if organisations underwrite or guarantee against fraud or losses resulting from fraud, then customer confidence rises sharply.

Braune concludes: "Consumer interest and positive behaviour is already there, with a third of the population (34%) with email/internet access already receiving statements in this way. It is time for companies to get savvy, help consumers to embrace Interactive eStatements, and grab this opportunity."

Notes to editors:

Nick Miles Text 100 Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)208 846 0700 email: