Yule log ons - Christmas day no longer a banking holiday for many

When you think of Christmas Day – turkey roast dinners, festive jumpers, and watching the Queen’s speech quickly spring to mind, but one new tradition, online banking is fast becoming a part of the yuletide traditions. According to Halifax, 12% of active online banking customers found time to log on to their bank account on Christmas Day this year, a 37% increase on the previous year.

There was also a significant increase in customers signing in using a mobile device. Of the  customers who logged on on Christmas Day 9% were on a tablet, 62% were through mobile banking, and 22% via a desktop demonstrating the shift in customer behaviour to mobile digital banking.

Those customers that did log on appeared to be counting the cost of Christmas already, with many looking to manage their finances as early as possible. 61,560 customers took the opportunity to make a payment on Christmas Day, while 46,617 transferred funds to another account. Additionally, 215 of customers logging on applied for an overdraft, while 105 were looking to take out a credit card.

Anita Hockin, Head of Digital for Halifax, says: "At this time of year, we are constantly reminded how expensive Christmas can be. It seems a growing proportion of the population are now wasting little time in sorting the bills from the festive period and ensuring that they manage their finances throughout the holiday.

“The increased popularity of online banking is helping to facilitate a more proactive attitude to money management, meaning that banking is becoming truly 24 hours 365 days a year for many.”

Customers logging in on Christmas day were marginally more likely to be male vs. female (53% male), while more than half (57%) of the customers logging on were under the age of 35.

There were also two spikes in logon activity during Christmas Day, with the busiest times of day between 10am and 12pm and then between 8pm and 10pm.