It may be tempting to blame consumers' reluctance on technological barriers or security fears, but market research indicates that set-up and privacy concerns haven't hindered increasingly tech-savvy consumers. Less than 10% said they shied away from alerts due to security concerns, and only 3% thought they would be too much trouble to set up, according to the latest statistics from Forrester.

The most frequent answer given for avoiding alerts was that consumers already check their accounts regularly. These highly involved clients tend to check their accounts twice a week and probably prefer to remain self-sufficient, Strothkamp says.

Meanwhile, consumers who have already incorporated alerts into their financial routines say they are extremely satisfied with the system. Seventy-five percent of users report that they always open the alerts they receive, and nearly 60% find the content relevant. In fact, a full third of these users find alerts so useful that they have signed up for additional updates.

All told, a solid majority of Americans are regularly monitoring their accounts through alerts or manual site visits. It's the other 30% that financial institutions should target in their marketing plans, Forrester argues.

"Firms should go out of their way to sign up more consumers," Strothkamp says. He recommends placing alert sign-ups in the path of online consumers, since most of them don't spend time browsing the site.

Companies seeking to enlist new users should also use e-mail as their primary distribution method. Eighty-one percent of users already receive alerts this way, as opposed to phone, SMS and online login messages. Firms considering this strategy have also noted that consumers prefer to reserve phone updates for urgent matters, according to Strothkamp.

Finally, alerts should be positioned as a consumer benefit, the Forrester analyst says. While the need for regular updates may seem obvious to financial industry insiders, consumers need to be sold on the personal benefits before handing out their e-mail addresses. This approach has been mastered by the three major credit agencies, largely shielding them from negative publicity about identity theft, Strothkamp says.

"It's time for banks to do something similar and offer alerts as part of their commitment to customer security," he says. "This is one of the ways that consumers can proactively protect themselves." [email protected]