Customers who bank online are happier, more loyal--and more profitable, says intuit.

• Position: MARKETING NEWS

IS ONLINE OR MOBILE BANKING ONLY FOR GEN X OR GEN Y? Not necessarily.

Once baby boomers and seniors become active online, they use online banking services, such as digital payments and personal financial management offerings, just as often as the younger Gen X and Gen Y consumers, according to data collected by Intuit Inc. The data shows that people who bank online and via their mobile and tablet devices log in about 30 times a month and are more profitable to a financial institution than those who don't bank digitally.

These are among the findings of an ongoing Intuit Financial Services study of financial institution customer engagement and value. Updated quarterly, Intuit's analysis provides a view of banking customer behaviors across several categories: online and mobile interaction, personal financial management, debit card transactions, digital payments and rewards, among others.

"Consumers and small businesses want helpful insights from their financial institution anytime, anywhere and on any device," says Russell Lester, director of analytics at Intuit Financial Services. "Extending the branch experience digitally lets consumers and small businesses do their banking easily on any number of devices in ways that they never could in the past."

Lester says that the data is dear: Greater engagement via digital channels leads to better financial outcomes for the user and the financial institution.

Additional data points from Intuit's study include:

* More mobility, more logins: People who banked on-line--those signing in from a desktop computer--logged in roughly 10 times a month. Mobile banking users increased the number to approximately 19 times a month. That...