Customers Seek Secure Banking with Web 2.0 Tools

Survey indicates one in four Facebook users would consider switching banks to obtain Web 2.0 banking services

London, June 4, 2008 – Research released today by WorkLight indicates a strong desire for Web 2.0 banking tools among customers. The company, which enables secure use of consumer Internet tools for business, revealed that a staggering 1 in 4 Facebook users would consider leaving their bank to be able to obtain online banking through Web 2.0 gadgets. Polling Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 34, the survey also determined that nearly half of those asked would take advantage of secure Web 2.0 gadgets for online banking. As Web 2.0 continues to be adopted around the world, consumers are looking for new ways to leverage popular tools such social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo), personalized homepages (Netvibes, iGoogle, Windows Live, etc), RSS and desktop widgets, in order to do business.

The survey of 1000 Facebook users, conducted by WorkLight, discovered that 48% of respondents would take advantage of online banking with Web 2.0 gadgets if their banks offered this service.

The profile of the typical Web 2.0 banking customer was revealed to be males between the ages of 25-34. According to the study, men are slightly more open to managing personal financing with Web 2.0, with 55% of men responding in the affirmative, versus 45% of women in the research group. Among the age groups, the 25-34 year olds seemed slightly more open to the idea of Web 2.0 banking with 53% saying they would take advantage of the service, compared to 45% for the 18-24 year olds. Moreover, 25-34 year olds (33%) are more likely to switch to another bank that offered Web 2.0 gadgets for online banking than 18-24 year olds (21%).

David Lavenda, VP Marketing and Product Strategy at Worklight: “To lose a quarter of your customers to competitors who have provided secure Web 2.0 banking would bear a significant impact on existing business. This is particularly true at a time when financial services companies are struggling to retain and acquire customers in a market that saturated with new competitors and countless new offerings.”

Security in Web 2.0 is an issue that will affect customer loyalty across industries, with financial services leading the pack. To meet this need, WorkLight has spearheaded the establishment of the Secure Enterprise 2.0 Forum. The forum consists of senior executives of Global 500 organizations, industry experts and vendors, who have banded together to find ways to secure Web 2.0 for business.

WorkLight are sponsors of The Future of Retail Banking Conference, 4th -5th June at London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square.

To learn more about the Secure Enterprise 2.0 Forum, click here: http://www.secure-enterprise20.org

To arrange an interview with David Lavenda to speak about the survey, please contact Darshna Kamani on 020 7183 2834 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You can download a diagram of the findings at: www.eskenzipr.com/BankingSurvey

About WorkLight

WorkLight™ Inc. develops and markets a line of server products that allow organizations to do more business securely using popular consumer Web 2.0 tools and technologies. like iGoogle, Windows Live, Netvibes, and Facebook. Through WorkLight, employees, channels, partners, and consumers connect to protected enterprise data (and to each other) using Web 2.0 services.

WorkLight is a venture-backed company with offices in Boston and Yakum, Israel. WorkLight has received prestigious industry accolades including being selected as a Winner of the Red Herring 100 Europe 2008 Award, named as one of the \"Five Enterprise 2.0 Startups to Watch,\" by InformationWeek magazine, selected as part of CIO Magazine\'s Web 2.0 Product Suite and singled out with an honourable mention as one of Computerworld\'s \"10 Cool Cutting-edge Technologies on the Horizon.\" For more information, visit www.myWorkLight.com.

Press Contact
Darshna Kamani
Eskenzi PR for WorkLight
44 (0) 20 7183 2834
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.