Canadians rarely go to bank branches, but like the option, survey says

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A new report by KPMG in Canada says most Canadians rarely head to a bank or credit union branch to do their daily banking, but they like the idea of keeping the option available.

The survey says 48 per cent of those questioned said they visit a branch once or twice a year — or not at all — and an additional 26 per cent say they visit a branch once every few months.

However, the report says 86 per cent of those surveyed said they like and want the security of knowing their branch is there, even though they do most of their banking online.

The survey also says 90 per cent said they think it’s essential that Canada’s major banks keep rural and small-town branches, especially in areas where high-speed internet access is not available.

The top reason for visiting a local bank or credit union was depositing or withdrawing money at 53 per cent.

The second most cited reason was opening an account at 12 per cent.

The report was based on an online survey of 2,058 Canadians between Sept. 15, 2023 and Sept. 20, 2023. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.