VIFI end user stats way up in 2000

INDIANAPOLIS - VIFI, a provider of Internet solutions for financials, said its online usage numbers are up dramatically over last year. The company reports having 175,000 active Net banking users, a 165% increase from May of last year. VIFI is processing 6.8 million transactions a month, a 289% increase over May of last year. Its financial institution clients have an average of 2,700 Internet banking users. That works out to an 8.23% end-user penetration rate per financials. Approximately 25% of active (active meaning they've used online banking within the last 30 days) Net banking users utilize bill payment. VIFI is also reporting a less than 1% churn rate of bill payment end users. VIFI's monthly Net banking user penetration is growing by about 8 to 9% per month. The company also claims to have a 3% churn rate among its Net banking users. That may seem hard to believe given that a Cyber Dialogue study said about 33% of consumers who begin online banking give up the service. A Bank Technology News study found that the churn rate is actually closer to 15%. "While our number of institutions has doubled, our number of active users has tripled, and our number of total transactions has nearly quadrupled," said Mike Winter, president of VIFI. But the stats are good news for more than just VIFI, said Winter. "These numbers show that online banking is a viable, thriving and growing business-one that is here to stay." -pgentile@cutimes.com